In a Wednesday showdown, Delhi Capitals managed to secure a hard-fought 15-run victory over Punjab Kings, with Liam Livingstone’s impressive knock of 94 ending in vain. This defeat has left Punjab Kings teetering on the edge of IPL elimination.

Punjab’s Rilee Rossouw, hailing from South Africa, displayed his prowess with an unbeaten 82, propelling his team to a formidable total of 213-2. However, their commanding position was momentarily threatened by Liam Livingstone’s explosive 48-ball innings in the scenic setting of Dharamsala.

Livingstone formed a formidable 78-run partnership with Atharva Taide before Taide retired out after scoring 55 runs. Unfortunately for Punjab, the remaining batting lineup failed to make a significant impact. Despite Livingstone’s impressive display, including nine sixes, and Delhi’s sloppy fielding, which saw two dropped catches, the Capitals managed to limit the opposition to a final score of 198-8. It’s worth noting that Delhi had already been eliminated from the playoff race, making this victory a consolation prize for them.
“Despite our shortcomings in the field, we’ll gladly accept the victory,” expressed Delhi’s captain David Warner.

Remaining in the eighth position on the 10-team table, Punjab finds themselves in a crucial situation, needing a win in their final group match and relying on other results and net run rate to secure a spot in the playoffs. “It was quite frustrating,” admitted Punjab’s captain Shikhar Dhawan. “Our bowling performance in the initial overs wasn’t up to par, and we missed opportunities to claim wickets despite the swinging conditions.”

In the T20 tournament, there are seven teams, including IPL powerhouses Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, competing for the three remaining playoff berths. Gujarat Titans, the reigning champions, were the first team to secure their place in the playoffs earlier this week, guaranteeing themselves a top-two finish in the group stage.

Delhi’s opening batsmen, David Warner (46) and Prithvi Shaw (54) built a solid foundation with a partnership of 94 runs, setting the stage for their team’s formidable total. In an impressive display of left-handed power, David Warner took charge with a rapid innings of 31 balls, unleashing two sixes against former Delhi pacer Kagiso Rabada.

Sam Curran, the Punjab left-arm quick and notable acquisition, prevented Warner from reaching his fifty. However, it was Rilee Rossouw, also a left-handed batsman, who arrived with an attacking approach, launching sixes and fours. Prithvi Shaw reached his fifty before falling victim to Curran’s bowling. Rossouw, in partnership with England’s Phil Salt, concluded the innings in a destructive manner.
Rossouw, who achieved his maiden IPL half-century and earned the well-deserved title of the man of the match, along with Salt, who contributed a brisk 26 runs off just 14 balls, dismantled the opposition attack. In the final two overs, they amassed an impressive 41 runs, showcasing their dominance.

The Bangladeshi cutter master was considered crucial in Delhi Capitals’ plans this season. However, the franchise kept him sitting in the first three matches. In the next two games, he couldn’t do justice to his name. Australian coach Tom Moody has advised Delhi to play an extra batsman instead of him.

Mustafizur got his first chance against Mumbai Indians in the 16th edition of the IPL. He gave 13 runs in the first over of the match, but in the next two overs, he got the wicket of Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma with 10 runs. Delhi was dreaming of winning it. But the cutter master came to bowl his fourth over and made all the noise. Tim David and Cameron Green hit him for a six each in the next three balls.

Mustafizur remained wicketless for 38 runs in four overs on the day of the defeat against Mumbai. In the next match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the cutter master was even more huarache. He gave away 41 runs in 3 overs. After such a performance, Mustafizur is worried about retaining his place in the team.

Delhi has played five matches so far this season but is yet to win. David Warner’s team is at the bottom of the points table after losing all the matches. In such a situation, Australian coach Tom Moody has suggested changes in the team’s foreign quota. The coach has asked to reduce one bowler and play another batter.

Mustafizur will burn his forehead if he follows Moody’s advice. Because Mustafizur’s fight between the fast bowlers in the foreign quota in the Delhi XI is with South Africa’s Anrich Norkhia. And Narkhia is far ahead of Mustafizur in performance. In that case, the cutter master of Bangladesh will be left out.

“I don’t think they have a choice,” Moody told ESPNcricinfo. They’re going two (two bowlers, two batters), I think there’s no choice but to go the other way (three batters, one bowler). ’

Moody also feels that Delhi’s batting order needs a change. He is asking Mitchell Marsh to play in the opening instead of Prithvi Shaw. He suggested playing Rilee Rossouw back in his place with one more bowler. Moody feels that Manish Pandey should be dropped at three and Rossouw at four.

Delhi Capitals are in the worst position in the current season of IPL. Even with a star-studded team and a renowned coaching staff, they have not won a single match so far. They have lost five matches in a row. If they lose two more matches, they will be knocked out of the playoff race. Sourav Ganguly, Delhi’s cricket director, took the responsibility to strengthen the team in such a situation. Delhi Capitals made up of stars like David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Anrikh Norkia, and Mustafizur Rahman have not been able to fight at least in the five matches played so far. Teamwork was not bad. Naturally, the team is now frustrated. To boost the morale of the team, Sourav Ganguly said, ‘We have to put our failures behind us.

The captain has to be supported, every cricketer has to be supported. We will start again in the next match. To play in the playoffs, Delhi will have to do something fierce. But it is very difficult to turn around from the level the team is at. But Sourav is not losing hope, ‘nothing worse than what happened is possible, so we can only improve. There are still 9 matches left. We can win 9 of the remaining 9 matches. Whether I could qualify or not is not the issue at the moment. We look at ourselves, play for ourselves, play for our quality.’

India’s World Cup-winning cricketer Virender Sehwag has questioned Ricky Ponting’s coaching in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The former Indian batsman blames the Australian coach for Delhi Capitals’ consecutive losses. Meanwhile, Sehwag compared Rinku Singh of Kolkata Knight Riders with India’s legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Delhi Capitals are in the IPL points table. So far they have played five matches in which Ricky Ponting’s men have lost each of them. The team is at the bottom of the points table. Ricky Ponting took charge of the Delhi Capitals in 2018. Since then, he has led the team to the playoffs in three of the four seasons. Although the team did not win the championship, it was the runner-up once. Delhi could not play in the playoffs in the last season but the team was in a good position in the points table. Former player Virender Sehwag blames Ricky Ponting for Delhi’s collapse in the ongoing IPL season. He made these comments in an interview with Cricbuzz after the loss to Punjab Kings on Saturday (April 15). Sehwag said, ‘Ponting is amazing as a coach. He has done a great job for Delhi. Delhi played the final under his coaching. He took Delhi to the playoffs every season. But when a team wins, we give credit to the coach. Now Delhi has lost but the coach has to take responsibility. Because he has failed to increase the confidence of the players. Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag has compared Kolkata Knight Riders sensation Rinku Singh to Sachin Tendulkar.

However, Sehwag commented that Ringku Singh will never be able to hit 6 sixes in 6 balls despite his praise. He said, ‘Tendulkar was the hope of the Indian national team at one time. If he plays well, the whole team plays well. Having Tendulkar in the team in the 90s did not mean winning matches was impossible. Rinku Singh is also doing like Tendulkar in KKR. Rinku’s presence in the team means that KKR’s chances of winning the match increase. But I think Rinku will never be able to hit six sixes in six balls. Sehwag is not associated with any team in this event in IPL. However, he is regularly seen as a commentator.

Delhi Capitals have lost their first five matches in this year’s IPL. The morale of the players has also gone down. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag was responsible for such a situation in Delhi. This time Delhi’s director Sourav Ganguly was punched by former Indian coach Ravi Shastri. What could be worse for a franchise than Mustafizur Rahman’s Delhi Capitals? The team has lost all five matches in this year’s IPL. Who is responsible for this? Players or coaches? Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag thinks that the reason for such a situation in Delhi is the team’s head coach and cricket director. Ravi Shastri punched Sourav.

Shastri took a jab at Sourav Ganguly while on commentary during the match against Bengaluru on Saturday (April 15). The former coach of India said, ‘It is one thing to lose by fighting, it is another thing to be ignored by the opponent. Former board president Sourav Ganguly’s team’s losses are not exactly losses, they are hammered. He should leave the dugout and go upstairs. Of course, he should think about it. Shastri thinks that Delhi’s situation is due to the captain and head coach of the team. Shastri said, ‘Delhi’s problem is that their head coach Ponting and captain Warner do not have the habit of losing. They cannot find a way to win as they are losing consecutively. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have already been knocked out of the tournament after losing the season’s first five matches. Shastri thinks that Delhi’s situation is due to the captain and head coach of the team. Shastri said, ‘Delhi’s problem is that their head coach Ponting and captain Warner do not have the habit of losing. They cannot find a way to win as they are losing consecutively. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals have already been knocked out of the tournament after losing the season’s first five matches.

What could be worse for a franchise than Mustafizur Rahman’s Delhi Capitals? The team has lost all five matches in this year’s IPL. Who is responsible for this? Players or coaches? Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag feels that coach Ricky Ponting is responsible for the loss. Delhi faced Lucknow Super Giants in their first match of this season. The franchise lost in that match by a big margin of 50 runs. Then they lost against Gujarat by 6 wickets, against Rajasthan by 57 runs, against Mumbai Indians, and in the last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs. After five consecutive losses, Sehwag criticized Ponting and Sourav. In an interview with Cricbuzz, Sehwag said, ‘Just as coaches get credit when a team wins, they also get the blame when they lose. As said many times, Ponting did a great job in Delhi. Under him, the team reached the finals, almost every year in the playoffs. All credit to him. Now he should take responsibility for this bad situation. If the Indian team wins, the coaches get credit, and if they lose, the responsibility goes to someone else – said Sehwag. He said, “If the Indian team wins, the coaches get credit, but if they lose, someone else is blamed.” Delhi is not the Indian team, here the coach has to take responsibility for the loss.

Even if Sehwag blames the coach, can the players somehow avoid it? The team’s recruits are playing in this tournament. David Warner is the second-highest run-getter in the game with 228 runs but his strike rate is only 116.82. Which is not T20-friendly at all. Besides Enrich Norkia and Mustafizur Rahman, none of the bowlers are in good form. Tiger pacer Mustafizur Rahman got a chance in two matches and spent runs in Dedarse. He conceded 41 runs in just 3 overs against Bengaluru, which is why Delhi captain Warner did not call him to play the fourth over. Earlier, he almost single-handedly knocked the team out of victory with 38 runs in 4 overs against Mumbai.

Tiger bowler Mustafizur Rahman disappointed Delhi after getting a chance. The cutter master scored 41 runs in 3 overs against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Now there is concern about whether he will be played in the next match due to consecutive bad performances. Although Liton Das did not get a chance for Kolkata in IPL, Delhi Capitals have rightly trusted another Bangladeshi, Mustafiz. But the cutter master is unable to repay that trust properly. In their first match of the season, Mumbai Indians needed 20 runs from 12 balls. Mustafiz scored 15 runs in the 19th over. And that’s what Delhi had to lose. In addition, the Tiger pacer gave 38 runs in 4 overs in that match.

After Mustafiz’s poor bowling, many thought that he might not be played against RCB. But Delhi coach Ricky Ponting trusted him in this match too. But the Tiger bowler disappointed everyone by bowling three overs. In the third over of the innings, captain David Warner gave the ball to Fizz. Duplessis was bowled by Darun Cutter on the first ball of the over. But the bouncer on the next ball went over the keeper’s head. After that, Mustafiz lost his rhythm. He gave a total of 10 runs in another four in that over. Coming to the second over, Mustafiz completely lost himself. Tiger Pacer scored 19 runs with one four and two sixes. Even after conceding 29 runs in two overs, Warner still trusted him. In the 19th over, the Delhi captain handed the ball over to him again. But Shahbaz Ahmed hit a four on his first ball. Then he had to digest another four in that over with the bat of Shahbaz. Mustafiz scored a total of 12 runs. Could not fulfill the quota of four overs. He gave 41 runs in three overs without a wicket. Fizz was the most aggressive of Delhi’s bowlers. Mustafiz’s regular poor performances have plagued Delhi Capitals. It can be said with certainty that the cutter master will lose his place in the eleven in the next match.

He had already joined the team. Finally, he got a chance in Delhi Capitals’ best XI on Tuesday night. But his first match in this year’s IPL was not pleasant. 1 wicket with 38 runs in 4 overs, but Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets on the last ball of Rohit Sharma’s day. On this day, Delhi batted first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium and was all out for 172 runs in 19.4 overs. On a day of failure by the batsmen, captain David Warner scored 51 off 47 balls and Akshar Patel scored 54 off 25 balls with 4 fours and 5 sixes. Manish Pandey scored 26 runs and Prithvish scored 15 runs. None of the rest scored double-digit home runs. In response, Mumbai got off to a great start with the bat of Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. In the end, Mumbai lost 4 wickets in 20 overs and anchored to victory. Rohit scored a maximum of 65 off 45 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes and was dismissed by Mustafiz. Tilak Verma scored 41 runs with 1 four and 4 sixes. And Ishan Kishan scored 31 runs off 26 balls with 6 fours. David Warner gave the ball to Mustafiz in the second over of the innings. He scored 13 runs with 3 fours in the first over with the ball in hand. Warner brought him back to bowl in the 15th over. He did great over this time.

Rohit Sharma and Tilak Verma were not allowed to play. He gave only 2 runs in this over. In the 17th over, Rohit somehow hit a four through deep square leg and deep midwicket on the very first ball. Dot the next three balls. The fifth ball sent Rohit Sharma back to the dressing room. Cameron Green hits a four off the sixth ball. Fiz took 1 wicket with 8 runs in the 17th over. His 19th over, however, was costly. When it came to bowling in the death overs, Green and Tim David hit two sixes and scored 15 runs in that over to bring victory within reach. Had this over been given a little more check, Delhi might have left the field with a win.

Delhi Capitals lost by 6 wickets against Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma’s team won the last ball in reply to the Capitals’ 172 runs. Despite the loss, Delhi captain David Warner hailed Tiger pacer Mustafizur Rahman as the best in the world. Mustafiz’s first match in the Delhi jersey was against Mumbai. Although he bowled well in the beginning, Fiz digested 2 sixes in the 19th over. It took Delhi far away from victory. Still, his team captain praised the cutter master. At the match presentation, Augie Star said, ‘Everyone did very well. Enrich Nortje is the best bowler in the world, and Mustafiz too. Team David was dangerous for us.”We had some positives in the last three games,” Warner added. But quick wickets should not have been lost. Akshar batted well. He should play higher up.’Mumbai got off to a great start chasing runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday (April 11). They scored 71 runs in the first wicket pair. At this time, Ishan Kishan got out after scoring 31 runs.

Mumbai’s team lost 2 wickets for 139 runs. Mukesh Kumar took both wickets. Tilak Burma on 41 runs and Suryakumar Yadav on zero runs returned to the pavilion. Tiger pacer Fiz came to bowl the 17th over in a tense match. Although he digested 4 in the beginning, he scored the next two balls. The cutter master took Rohit’s wicket with the third ball. The Mumbai captain caught wicketkeeper Abhishek Pudel off a wide-length ball from Fizz. He scored 65 runs off 45 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. Enrich Norkia spent 6 runs in the next over. But Mumbai came back in the match when Fizz spent 15 runs in the 19th over. Mumbai needed 5 runs to win in the last over. Norkia sealed the match with 2 dots in the first three balls.

In the second ball, Mukesh Kumar released the catch of Team David. Delhi missed the chance of a run-out on the fifth ball of the over. As a result, Rohit Sharma needed 2 runs to win from the last ball. David took the run with a straight bat. In the end, David was unbeaten on 13 and Cameron Green on 17. Earlier, Mustafiz’s Delhi scored 172 runs after losing all the wickets. Akshar Patel scored the highest 54 runs for the team. Patel’s innings had 4 fours and 5 sixes. Besides, opener and captain David Warner scored 51 runs from 47 balls with the help of 6 fours. Jason Behrendorff and Piyush Chawla took a maximum of 3 wickets each for Mumbai.