IPL 2023: Our Fielding After First Four Overs Was Really Sloppy, Admits Ricky Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting lamented the sloppy fielding by his team, especially after the first four overs, in the side's 50-run loss in their first match of IPL 2023 to Lucknow Super Giants.

In the match, where Delhi had a forgettable time in the fielding department, Kyle Mayers was on 14 when Khaleel Ahmed dropped his catch at short third off Chetan Sakariya in the sixth over.

Mayers would go on to slam an explosive 38-ball 73 as Lucknow amassed 193/6 in their first-ever home game.

"To be totally honest, I think they got more runs than they probably should have. I don't think we helped ourselves in the field. Our fielding after the first four overs was really sloppy. A couple of chances went down, a few misfields.

One of those chances that went down was Mayers', who ended up going on a bit of a run after that, which put us behind the game a little bit. The thing with giving chances in the IPL is you're giving very good players a second opportunity. And he cashed in."

For pretty much from that moment on, he hit everything in the middle. He attacked our spin, which he played really well. So that's just a good lesson for us. We know that we have to be really sharp in the field," said Ponting in the post-match press conference.

"You can't afford to put chances down, and if you do, you have to expect that they're going to make you pay. There are a few reasons why we lost the game, and we'll address those and hopefully improve for our next game," he added.

On a pitch which looked tricky for strokeplay, Lucknow stunned everyone by hitting 16 sixes as compared to only five fours hit by the KL Rahul-led side. Barring Ahmed's 2/30 in four overs, all Delhi bowlers had their economy rates above eight.

"I think we conceded 16 sixes in our bowling innings. That goes to show that we were a fair bit off with our execution with our bowling. Whenever you're giving up 16 sixes, and there's only five fours, which is quite remarkable." he said.

"So, whenever you're giving up that many, it's going to be hard to drag yourself back into the game. Looking at the wicket, I didn't think it was a 190-plus wicket. There was a lot of dew there. If anything, on that wicket, it was probably better for us batting second," he added.

Ponting also conceded that his team had expected for some raw pace and menacing bouncers from tearaway pacer Mark Wood, whose 5/14 broke the back of Delhi's run chase in the power-play, leading them to make only 143/9 in 20 overs. 

"He bowled the way we thought he would bowl. We know he will run in and bowl fast; we know he will run in and attack the stumps and use his bouncer. That's what he did. He got those couple of bowleds and used his bouncer really well. He's a world-class fast bowler. As this tournament goes on, if he stays fit, you will see him bowl some really fast spells," the coach said.

Delhi will next play their first home game of IPL 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium against defending champions Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.

"He bowled the way we thought he would bowl. We know he will run in and bowl fast; we know he will run in and attack the stumps and use his bouncer. That's what he did. He got those couple of bowleds and used his bouncer really well. He's a world-class fast bowler. As this tournament goes on, if he stays fit, you will see him bowl some really fast spells," the coach said.