It was like winning my first Test, Sourav Ganguly says after Delhi’s first point
Capitals director wants better effort from batters after four-wicket win over Kolkata
New Delhi: Winning their first match in six outings was akin to winning his first Test for Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals Director of Cricket, who however said his boys will have to look at themselves as to how they can do better in batting.
An impressive show by their bowlers followed by skipper David Warner’s vital fifty (57 off 41) guided Delhi Capitals to their first win of the season, beating Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets in a rain-delayed IPL 2023 match at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.
Brilliant start
On the back of good bowling by Axar Patel (2/13), Kuldeep Yadav (2/15) Ishant Sharma (2/19) and Anrich Nortje (2/20), Delhi bowled out Kolkata for a paltry 127 in 20 overs.
In reply, Warner gave Capitals a brilliant start, and then Knight Riders spinners turned the tables in the middle overs, but eventually the hosts sealed the win with three balls to spare to open their account.
“I was thinking it was like my first Test: happy to get off the mark! We have bowled well this season,” Ganguly said after their four-wicket win with four balls to spare.
Good pitches
However, he was not entirely happy with their batting display as Delhi Capitals made it too close for comfort in the end.
“These are good pitches and fast outfields, but the problem is the batting. We need to go back and look at ourselves as to how we can do better. Nortje has been outstanding. Good to see Ishant (Sharma) and Mukesh (Kumar). I wouldn’t say it is an inexperienced line-up… Many of them have been around for a long time. They also know it’s time to put up a better batting performance,” Ganguly told the official broadcaster after the match.
Great two points
Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner too was happy to win their first match in IPL 2023 and get off the mark.
“Great to get the two points. It’s awesome; we are really proud of the bowling unit. We asked for wickets in the powerplay, and they did that. Again we lost wickets in a cluster. We can have those upfront conversations. We played an OK game,” Warner said after the match.
Waiting for my chance
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, who claimed 2-19 off his four overs early in the innings and was named Player of the Match for his effort, said he was waiting for the chance to play his first match in IPL 2023.
“I was just waiting for my chance. That’s all I was thinking. Every single day the areas [of bowling] change… we talk about the plans. There’s no lucky charm in the team. We want to win every single game from here,” he said at the post-match presentation.