Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has revealed that star Australian opener David Warner has already arrived in Mumbai and feels South African pacer Anrich Nortje is just a couple of spells away from being match ready, and both are likely to be available for their next IPL 2022 game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 7.
“David Warner has arrived in Mumbai. He left early yesterday morning I believe, so he should be there when we get back to Mumbai tonight,” Ponting said after their loss to Gujarat Titans on Saturday night during a virtual media conference.
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Nortje has been out of competitive cricket since last November's T20 World Cup due to a back and hip injury. “Nortje bowled 100 per cent this morning (Saturday) in the warm-ups. He has to get through another maybe four or five-over spell at 100 per cent capacity.
“And then I think if he gets clearance from Cricket South Africa, he should be right to go. We have got a few more days before our next game, so hopefully he is available for selection for that one,” said Ponting.
Another Australian, Mitchell Marsh, who picked up slight hip flexor strain in Pakistan, is also in the country. “Mitchell Marsh has been in Mumbai for a few days, obviously getting his quarantine done. I think he might be out of quarantine tomorrow actually.
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“We need to get a lot of treatment work into him and obviously a few good training sessions before he is available for selection. We are hoping that he (Marsh) is going to be available for the game on 10th (against Kolkata Knight Riders),” added the two-time World Cup-winning Australia captain.
“But fingers crossed, Davey should be there for the next game and Mitch Marsh for the game after.” Reacting to their loss against Gujarat Titans, Ponting blamed the loss of early wickets in their 14-run loss. The Delhi Capitals head coach said the 172-run target was a chaseable one.
“If you are losing three wickets in the powerplay, it's really hard to win games from there. We know that, the stats say that, they have said that right through the history of T20 cricket,” Ponting added. “On this wicket, on this ground, we thought it was a very, very chaseable total.
“That's certainly one area that we got to get better at, getting through that powerplay. None or one down would be a nice start to a run chase.” Chasing, DC were reduced to 34 for three inside five overs by Titans at the MCA Stadium.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans pacer Lockie Ferguson, who returned with match-winning figures of 4 for 28, said his focus was only on bowling in the right areas. “There was little bit of nip in the pitch. My job was pretty simple to bowl in the right areas and try to find the nip off the pitch,” he said.
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With PTI Inputs
