Delhi Capitals suffer Ashwin brain fade in death overs vs Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede

The seventh game of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede stadium witnessed strange but peculiar patterns. Delhi Capitals suffered a collapse at 37/4 but Rishabh Pant rescued them with a fifty. Not a single six was hit in the entire innings. Rajasthan Royals’ innings was similar to that of Delhi Capitals. Sanju Samson’s side collapsed to 42/5 and until the 13^th over, Delhi Capitals seemed on course for a win. It was at that point in time that Delhi Capitals failed to press home the advantage. 

It all started with how Rishabh Pant utilized Ravichandran Ashwin. The offspinner, who had a tough game against Chennai Super Kings, conceded just 14 runs in just three overs. He did not give away a single boundary. David Miller was on strike. Apparently, Delhi Capitals did not do their research on the utility of Ashwin.

Ashwin had bowled 14 balls to Miller and he scored only 10 runs off him. In Tests, Ashwin is a left-hander’s nightmare. Among batsmen whom he has dismissed the most in Tests, nine out of the top 10 are left-handers. If not for a wicket, Ashwin could have increased the pressure and forced Miller into a mistake. That did not happen. Instead, Pant opted for Marcus Stoinis. The Aussie all-rounder gave away 15 runs. The pressure was released.

 Under-utilizing Ashwin a cardinal sin

A great record against left-handers. In the match, he did not concede a single boundary. Yet, he did not finish his full quota. Perhaps, Pant was worried about dew. But, dew impacts spinners less than pacers. With dew, spinners can get the ball to skid on. For pacers, grip becomes an issue. Ashwin had the ability to skid the ball through. Yet, he did not bowl his full quota of overs.

It did not help that Pant fluffed a simple run-out chance. It was Jaydev Unadkat, no doubt. But, another wicket could have increased pressure. The dew factor hurt Pant and Delhi Capitals badly. It was too much to expect Kagiso Rabada to deliver his 2019 and 2020 death over heroics. He was coming out of quarantine, had not played much cricket for a year. He looked rusty. Yet, he delivered.

Tom Curran, on the other hand, struggled. He bowled three decent overs. But, with the dew, he missed his length in the final over and Chris Morris had redemption. Lesson here for Sanju Samson. Had he backed Morris for the one hit against Punjab Kings, the story of Rajasthan Royals’ campaign would have been different. 

Pant is learning the hard trade of captaincy. Every match will present fresh challenges. He is young. One mistake was coming. It is lucky that the mistake took place at the beginning of the IPL rather than at the end, as has been the case with previous Delhi Capitals IPL campaigns. 

A bit of research and analyzing the situation currently and correctly will go a long way in ensuring Pant has consistency when it comes to delivering positive results.