After registering an emphatic 59-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here on Monday, Delhi Capitals’ (DC) off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hailed the bench strength of the side, saying that it is good enough to make another Indian Premier League (IPL) team.
Before the match against RCB, Delhi received an enormous blow as spinner Amit Mishra was ruled out of the tournament thanks to a finger injury. In place of Mishra, Axar Patel was given an opportunity against the Virat Kohli-led side, and he responded impressively with figures of 2-18 from his four overs.
Talking about the advantageous and beautiful side of the Delhi Boys as Aswin said that during his injury it was Amit Mishra who took his place and now when he is injured it is Axar Patel who had performed. Ashwin believes that there are enough power and strength in their bench and the injuries won’t trouble them. He further believes that their bench could form another team in the IPL to compete.
Ashwin believes that the presence of Amit Mishra will be missed but they try to keep him happy at home by performing well on the field.
Aswin spoke on the performance of Axar Patel and appreciated his efforts against the Banglore side where he was able to build good pressure on the batsman.
It was also said that match winners and heroes are appreciated in the dressing room after the match by the great cricketing legend Ricky Ponting who is their coach so as a result each and every player makes sure to take up their roles seriously.
The Virat led Bangalore side failed to perform and were restricted to a score of 137/9 on chasing 196 where the skipper scored 43 and none other batsman got going.
For Delhi, Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-24. Ashwin conceded just 26 runs from his four overs and also got the crucial wicket of Devdutt Padikkal. The win took Delhi to the top of the table with four victories and eight points from five matches.
“I think we have got a good side. Everyone is putting their hand up. I thought we were a touch rusty initially stepping into the tournament. Even on behalf of me, it’s taken five games to urge through the complete quota of 4 overs; it’s been a quite interesting year. I bowled four overs for the primary time during this year’s IPL. The biggest positive is that there’s still tons of room for improvement, so I feel we’ll get there at the backend of the tournament,” Ashwin said.
Batting first, DC scored 196/4, with Prithvi Shaw and Marcus Stoinis scoring 42 and 53 respectively. Stoinis came to the crease with Delhi at 90/3 within the 12th over and therefore the Australian all-rounder went on to attain a quickfire half-century with the assistance of six fours and two sixes.
Ashwin also said that Prithvi is a special talent as his technique is quite different from others. His stroke play is brilliant and he hits the ball with beauty. Ashwin does not want to compare his play of style with anyone as he believes that everyone has their own unique style of play.
He further added that Marcus Stoinis has become a strong part of their team as he has improved well. He has been a part of multiple franchises in the many previous seasons and now with his strength and experience he has a lot to offer for the Delhi Capitals.