Why Ricky Ponting broke remote controls watching Delhi Capitals play
With three wins and four losses in the first seven matches of the season, Delhi Capitals are currently seventh in the points table and all set to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the next match on Thursday.
Sharing his experience of watching the team’s previous match from quarantine, head coach Ricky Ponting said, “It was frustrating. I think I broke three or four remote controls and a few bottles of water might have got thrown into the walls and things like that (laughs). When you’re on the side-lines, being a coach and you can’t control what’s happening out in the middle, that’s hard enough, but when you’re not actually at the ground, it can get a little more frustrating.”
The former Australian batting great re-joined the DC squad at training after completing his precautionary five-day room isolation after a family member had tested positive for Covid-19. Ponting could not travel with the team to the Wankhede stadium for their last game against Rajasthan Royals as he was isolated from the rest of the squad after one of his family members, staying with him at the team hotel, had tested positive.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant during match between the Delhi Capitals and the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on the 22nd April 2022. (Photo Deepak Malik / Sportzpics for IPL)
Reflecting on the first half of the season, the coach also stated in a DC press release, “I’ve said it a few times this year where there’s 36 or 37 overs of really good stuff, and we just let it slip for two or three overs. And, that’s the difference in these games. We sort of gear ourselves to not overtrain in the first part of the season, try and build up along the way. But our performances have been win one, lose one, win one. So, we need to start getting that little bit of momentum.”
Speaking about the upcoming second half of the season, Ponting said, “I know we’re so close to turning it all around. We’ve all got to trust, we’ve got to believe, we’ve got to stay upbeat and positive. And if we are, things will definitely change for us.”
