Delhi Capitals assistant coach Ajit Agarkar blamed an overall poor batting for the team’s defeat against Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League T20 tournament on Tuesday, saying it would not be right to blame one or two batsmen.
The Delhi team could only manage 162 runs for eight wickets after being invited to bat first. Gujarat Titans won the match by losing four wickets with 11 balls to spare. Captain David Warner scored 37 off 32 balls and Sarfaraz Khan scored 30 off 34 balls for Delhi but both these batsmen struggled and failed to increase the run rate. Prithvi Shaw could also contribute only seven runs with the bat.
Agarkar said in -match press conference, “Why blame one or two batsmen, none of our batsmen played well in the top order. I am not talking about this match only. The batsmen disappointed in both the opening matches. “You can see the performance of the teams which got off to a good start. We have to improve on this. Credit should go to Gujarat but we have to improve.
When asked about the struggle of Warner and Prithvi Shaw against fast bowlers, he said, “Sau has scored a century on his Test debut, he has scored a lot of runs in domestic matches. There is no doubt that the standard of IPL is higher than domestic cricket but Shaw and Warner have scored a lot of runs in this league. ,
Delhi’s decision to not let all-rounder Akshar Patel bowl while defending the target raised questions but Agarkar defended it saying, “The pitch was helping the fast bowlers more.” We have an option in the form of Mitchell Marsh. Left-handed batsmen were playing and the boundary on one side of the ground was small, so this decision was taken considering the circumstances of the match. It would have been risky to bowl with a finger spinner at that time.
Despite the loss, Agarkar was impressed with young wicketkeeper-batsman Abhishek Porel. Porel impressed in wicket-keeping after scoring 20 runs in 11 balls with the help of two sixes.
This former India fast bowler said, “It is very difficult to fill the gap of Rishabh Pant but Abhishek Porel impressed a lot with the bat and behind the wicket. Despite having no experience of this level of cricket at such a young age, he showed great spirit. He was also comfortable behind the wicket against a bowler like Norkia. This is a positive thing for us and would like to take it forward. ,
The Delhi team, which faced defeat in both the opening matches, has to play its next match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.
