DUBAI: Having suffered a dramatic seven-wicket loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last league stage match, Delhi Capitals will look to bounce back with a win to make a direct entry into the final of IPL 2021 when they take on CSK in Qualifier 1 on Sunday.
Speaking about the last league stage match, which went down to the wire on Friday, Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said that defeat will give the team a chance to reflect and improve ahead of the qualifier against CSK.
"It was a disappointing way for the game to end, and for us to lose the way we did, but I am not unhappy about it at all. I actually think, it's a really good thing because it will give the boys a chance to reflect and think about how we can improve for Sunday's game, and it's a short turnaround, so you have to forget about things and start focusing on the next game," said Ponting in Delhi Capitals release.
He also termed this loss a "step forward". Ponting reckoned that despite losing, the team played better as compared to the last couple of matches which they won in the league stage.
"A lot to like about tonight's game, even though we have lost. I think it's a step forward. If you look at the last game (against Chennai Super Kings), it wasn't a great performance, the Mumbai game wasn't a great performance either, but we still managed to win those games," said Ponting.
"If you look at it, we probably have played better tonight than the games we have won, so that's certainly the way I look at it. It's not about end results, it's about the performances we were putting on the board," he said.
The Aussie further added, "Prithvi played his best game tonight, Shikhar probably looked his best in the tournament, so there's a lot to like about this group. As I said earlier, we have played good cricket, the challenge now for us over the next week is to play great cricket, and I think that's just around the corner for us."
Delhi Capitals, who finished the IPL 2021 league stage on the top of the points table, have beaten Chennai Super Kings in both their league matches.
Speaking about their Qualifiers 1 against MS Dhoni's men, Ponting said, "I think we should be very confident. We have beaten them twice in the league games, but as you know, the playoff games are completely different, and our tournament really starts now."
"It starts when our players get their recovery done from tonight's (Friday) game, and then we make sure we get ourselves in the right mindset to take on Chennai. They are also a very good side, they have been level pegging with us right throughout the tournament, who's gonna finish first and who's gonna second. So, we totally respect them as a playing group, and them as a franchise," he concluded.