Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
The 14th edition of Indian Premier League witnessed another nail-biting contest on Tuesday as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Capitals by only one run to go top of the table. It was only the second loss for Rishabh Pant's side this season as they stay at third position in the IPL 2021 standings. After the match, DC head coach Ricky Ponting admitted that it was a great game of cricket but RCB were just a little bit too good for them. While the 46-year-old talked about the match, he also opened up on the ongoing situation of pandemic in the country and its impact on the team.
It's a really strange feeling: Ponting
The coach of Delhi Capitals was very vocal about the impact of pandemic on the team. Reflecting on the situation, Ponting said, "It's a really strange feeling amongst our team right now. We are very aware of what's happening outside and through India at the moment. Obviously our hearts go out to every single person in India that's struggling with what's happening with COVID in the society."
Notably, few players of DC have been directly impacted by the pandemic. While Axar Patel missed the first few matches after testing positive for the virus, Ravichandran Ashwin recently announced that he would be leaving the squad to be with his gamily. Considering these things, the 46-year-old opined that Delhi might be one of those franchises who have been most affected by the same. He said, "Ravi Ashwin left to be with his family. So maybe, its probably affecting us and we are talking about it more than maybe, most teams are."
Ponting feels that they are blessed to do what they are doing
The Aussie also talked about the other revelations in last two days regarding some decisions that their government has made as far as Australians returning to the country from India. Reflecting on these events, Ponting admitted, "There is no doubt that there have been few distractions on the way. But, we understand how blessed we are to turn up and do what we did tonight. Hopefully, there are a number of people around India who got some enjoyment out of watching a great game of IPL tonight."