Delhi Capitals' captain David Warner blamed his side’s batting after being kicked out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season 16 with a 31-run loss to Punjab Kings on Saturday (May 13).
Delhi were given a perfect start thanks to their skipper’s valiant effort as they had scored 69 runs for no loss by the end of the powerplay. But a collapse put them into the situation of 88 for 6 in 10.1 overs and they were inevitably restricted to 136/8 in 20 overs.
“The way we started and then losing six for 30, you are not going to win many games," Warner said at the post-match presentation. "Another disappointing effort with the bat after the start we had."
He also talked about the drop chance of Prabhsimran Singh when he was batting at 68, who then ended up scoring a century.
“A few dropped chances cost us a few runs," Warner said.
"You have to play with pride, belief in yourself and play with freedom," he said about DC's approach in the upcoming games.
On a difficult pitch where none of his teammates crossed 20, Prabhsimran stood tall as he scored a 65-ball 103.
Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan had nothing but big words for the centurion: "I rate this knock quite high, playing that sort of a knock with that high strike-rate and the shots he has played against the turn as well -- it was amazing."
Dhawan also hailed the spin duo of Harpreet Brar (4-30) and Rahul Chahar (2-16) and the pace bowling led beautifully by Nathan Ellis (2-26).
"Credit goes to the spinners and then the fast bowlers for closing it out," he said.
The win kept Punjab’s playoff qualification hopes alive as they sit at 7th position in the IPL points table with 12 points, the same as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).
DC will play their two remaining matches for nothing more than pride.