IPL 2024: "I was almost embarrassed....": DC coach Ponting blasts team after loss to KKR

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) produced a remarkable performance in all facets of the game against Delhi Capitals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

Following the match in the post-match press conference, Ponting said, "I was almost embarrassed with our first half of the game today - to concede that many runs. It took us two hours as well to bowl our overs, so we were two overs behind again, which means the guys bowling the last two overs only get to bowl with four fielders outside the circle."

"There are a lot of things that happened in this game that are unacceptable; we have to fix [them] immediately to go forward in this tournament," the former Australian skipper added.

Ponting said that KKR were relentless throughout the game.

"They got off to a flying start in the powerplay. They were around 90 runs after six overs. That phase is not ideal; if that happens at the start of the game, then you are always trying to find your way back into the game and they did not allow us to do that today. They were relentless. We have got to be very critical on ourselves," Ponting said.

DC skipper Pant scored a back-to-back half-century during the match, but during the game, he called a physio while batting. Ponting said it might have been just tiredness and he was moving pretty well while batting.

"I saw he called a physio out. It might have just been a bit of tiredness. Looked like he was moving pretty well when he batted. I think we should just concentrate on the way he batted tonight. I did not see him hobbling at all after he called the physio out. I saw him doing a little bit of stretching, so there might be a little bit of cramp," the DC head coach said.

However, the coach said that he is pleased with Pant's batting and a situation where he needed to attack was something he needed to get his confidence back.

"Pleased for him, what he did with the bat. A situation like that, where he had to go out and attack from the start is probably a scenario that he needed just to get some confidence back. He is actually had two good games with the bat now which is great," said Ponting.

Talking about skipper Rishabh missing taking a DRS against Sunil Narine during KKR's batting, Ponting said that, "Narine was missed and then Shreyas Iyer was missed later on. I am not sure what happened there. Obviously, Rishabh had not heard them. Other fielders and bowlers on the ground actually heard something on both occasions," he added.

KKR elected to bat first after winning the toss. Openers Phil Salt (18 in 12 balls, with four boundaries) and Sunil Narine gave the team a fine start with an explosive 60-run partnership. Next, a 104-run partnership between Narine (85 in 39 balls, with seven fours and seven sixes) and an 18-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi (54 in 27 balls, with five fours and three sixes) took KKR to 164 in 12.3 overs.

Cameos from Andre Russell (41 in 19 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and Rinku Singh (26 in eight balls, with one four and three sixes) took the two-time champions to 272/7 in 20 overs.

Anrich Nortje (3/59) was the pick of the bowlers for DC but leaked a lot of runs. Ishant Sharma (2/43) was also solid with the ball. Khaleel Ahmed and Mitchell Marsh took a wicket each.

In the run-chase, DC sunk to 33/4. A 93-run partnership between skipper Rishabh (55 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and five sixes) and Tristan Stubbs (54 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) helped DC put up a brief fight and provide some entertainment to their fans, but they were skittled out for 166 in 17.2 overs.

Vaibhav Arora (3/27) and Varun Chakravarthy (3/33) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR. Mitchell Starc also picked up 2/25 in three overs. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine took a wicket each.

Narine won the 'Player of the Match' award for his fifty. KKR is at the top, having won all their three games and getting six points. DC is in the ninth spot with one win and three losses, giving them two points. (ANI)