Keeping the faith in Rishabh Pant has helped Delhi Capitals in IPL 2019: Ricky Ponting

Rishabh Pant has endured a roller-coaster journey in the 2019 Indian Premier League. The left-hander smashed 78 to help Delhi Capitals beat the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium and remained in firm contention for a spot in the squad for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. However, Pant was overlooked in favour of Dinesh Karthik in the squad but the youngster still continued to play well. Pant hammered 78 and helped Delhi Capitals beat Rajasthan Royals as they remained in the second position in the points table and look good to seal a spot in the playoffs. Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has said backing Pant has helped the franchise immensely.

“There have been questions asked about where we should have dropped certain players in some matches, but I believe when you have talented players in your squad, you just keep backing them. We have players who can turn it around quite quickly as it takes just one inning or matches to get going in a tournament like this. Players like Rishabh might have had certain thoughts about World Cup selection, but to be honest, that 78 not out in the first match against Mumbai got us the win. I'm glad he found form again against RR, and what you want from players like him in such a tournament is that they win you three or four matches each throughout the season, and he has won two games for us so far, and if he remains in form, he can get a couple of more wins,” Ponting said.

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Delhi Capitals are in the second position with four out of five wins recently and one more win will ensure that they reach the playoffs. When asked about which was Delhi Capitals’ most memorable win in IPL 2019, Ponting said the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium was crucial.

"I feel we are going in the right direction. I am happy that the team is peaking at the right time, with better communication amongst the group. I really liked the Hyderabad win because we did not do much right in that match but still found a way to win. It was more the way we fought back, probably after their batting powerplay, they batted second and they were 60-0, and the game was starting to slip away but there were some really good signs in that game from our side," Ponting said.

Delhi Capitals’ next match will be against Royal Challengers Bangalore and a win could not only seal their spot in the playoffs but also knock Kohli’s side out of the competition.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Delhi Capitals are currently in the second position in IPL 2019 points table.
• Delhi Capitals can potentially knockout Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore.
• Rishabh Pant has played two crucial knocks against Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.