IPL 2019: Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting blasts Kotla track

Struggling Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting expressed his disappointment over the pitch provided by the Feroz Shah Kotla ground staff, adding that the inputs provided by the groundsmen were completely opposite to how the pitch played out

David Warner and Jonny Bairstow once again joined hands to win yet another game for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Orange Army defeated the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 5 wickets on Thursday to register their third consecutive win in the tournament. With 2 more points in their kitty, SRH have dethroned Kings XI Punjab to become the table toppers. Struggling Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting expressed his disappointment over the pitch provided by the Feroz Shah Kotla ground staff, adding that the inputs provided by the groundsmen were completely opposite to how the pitch played out. The former Australian captain was livid with the pitch, stating it as the "worst" pitch possible for the home team. "I think it is fair to say that the wicket surprised us a lot. Talking to the groundsmen before the match, we thought this would be the best pitch that we had by far but it was the worst. You saw how little it bounced and how slow it was," Ponting told reporters after the match. Sunrisers' Afghan spin duo of Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan took three wickets among them, giving away only 39 runs in their combined eight overs. "Look, at the end of the day, it is the same pitch for both teams but if you would have asked me, would I have wanted to play Sunrisers on that type of pitch? I mean, there couldn't have been a different wicket where you would have wanted to play Sunrisers on," Ponting smiled as he answered but his anger was palpable. "It (Pitch) absolutely suited their game. They have great spinners and all their seamers just bowled slower balls. And on that wicket, when you bowl slower balls it is near impossible to hit," he reasoned. The coach also said if will rethink about the team combination if the slowness of the  Kotla track remains same during the remaining four home games. "But if the wicket is going to remain like this, then we have to think about our selection in our team as well. May be our bowlers were not suited to that wicket today but it was not what we expected so we are as surprised as anybody else," he said. However, Ponting put up a brave face after team's third defeat and expected the talented bunch of players to bounce back. "It is not the end of the world by any stretch of imagination. We have a good mix of experience with Shikhar and Morris. Even Rishabh (Pant) and Shreyas (Iyer) have played 4-6 editions of IPL, so they are not inexperienced," he said.