Doesn't matter what we've done in first half of the season: Delhi Capitals' head coach Ricky Ponting

With the second phase of the VIVO IPL 2021 about to begin, Delhi Capitals will start from the top position. Having won six of their eight matches, the franchise is occupying the top spot with 12 points to its name. Their head coach Ricky Ponting says that he’s thrilled to join the team in Dubai for the second half of the IPL, which is set to begin later this week. The Australian said that the players have shown great intensity during the pre-season camp. “I have been waiting for four months to come back to the Delhi Capitals camp,” he said, according to a Delhi Capitals’ press release.

“I have such a great time when I work with the team and it’s a great time in my calendar year. I have been keeping a close eye on what’s been happening here. I have been speaking to the coaching staff here and they have done a great job so far (in the pre-season camp). You can see with the intensity and the attitude shown by the players that it’s been a really worthwhile camp so far. I am really excited about what we’ve got coming up in the next four-five weeks,” said the 46-year-old.

‘We really have to start again’

The former Australian skipper believes that Delhi’s performance in the first half of the IPL season doesn’t matter anymore, and that the side will have to re-build again. “It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the first half of the season. It’s been four months since when we played some really good cricket, so we really have to start again. We have to build ourselves as we go along in the tournament and make sure that we are playing our best cricket at the back end of the tournament. Our performance in the first half of the tournament was because of how well we played and how hard we worked, but I don’t think we played our best cricket,” said the Head Coach.

Ponting then spoke about Shreyas Iyer’s return to the Delhi Capitals side post recovering from his shoulder injury. He added, “It’s great to have Shreyas back. He has got an infectious attitude. I have been talking to him a lot and his training has been great. He’s so keen to get back into the field, score runs and win. He’s a world-class player and he’s going to add a lot to our team, there’s no doubt about that.”

Steve Smith on second half of IPL

Star Australian batsman Steve Smith reckons that the team can do even better in the second half of the IPL. The Delhi Capitals are set to take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on 22 September after the IPL season resumes. “We have to pick up from where we left off. We were playing some really good cricket, getting the results we were after. And I think we can do even better so we should be playing our best cricket in the back end of the tournament. You have to play well enough to get to the final, but hopefully, we can play our best cricket in the final,” said Smith.

“It’s been a few months since we have played together so we have to build again. We have a great squad and we have Shreyas Iyer back in the side as well, which adds a lot more to us. He’s a quality player and good to see him back out in the park,” he added.