Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players'Not weird, but a big error': Ajay Jadeja blames Rishabh Pant's 'defensive' captaincy for DC's loss to RR
IPL 2021: Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja said Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant's 'defensive' approach in the middle overs allowed Rajasthan Royals to make a comeback in the Indian Premier League match in Mumbai.
Delhi Capitals' captain Rishabh Pant's decision of not bowling R Ashwin his full quota of 4 overs in the Indian Premier League 2021 match against Rajasthan Royals proved to be costly. RR batsmen David Miller and Chris Morris turned things around for their team in the death overs. Despite being 42/5, Rajasthan were able to chase down the total of 148 with three wickets in hand.
Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja said Rishabh Pant's 'defensive' approach in the middle overs allowed RR to make a comeback in the match.
"That over [13th, by Marcus Stoinis] kickstarted the chase for Rajasthan Royals. Before it, the scoreboard read 55-5. [Kagiso] Rabada, Avesh Khan, Chris Woakes, and R Ashwin, all main bowlers had bowled their 3 overs. When they were bowling, the game was different," Jadeja told Cricbuzz.
Also Read | 'No we're not reviewing': Dhoni on why he turned down Chahar's DRS plea
Ashwin bowled 3 over for 14 runs but was surprisingly not asked bowl his fourth over by Pant, a decision that also left head coach Ricky Ponting bemused, who said it was a mistake on their part.
"I believe you should have bowled your main bowlers some more. The game began to tilt in that over. Unlike CSK, Rajasthan Royals can score quick runs in the end. It's a game, someone will falter. The mistake was that he [Rishabh Pant] switched to defensive style from attacking and what was done and dusted, he let it revive again," Jadeja added.
"It's not weird (preserving one over of Ashwin) but it's a big error. You allowed them to come back into the game. There wasn't much spin but the batsmen weren't looking to dominate either.
"I believe if you bowl your main bowlers in the first 16 overs then you have the best chance. It was a small total and, you know, batsmen don't find it a lot more difficult to chase in the final few overs here in Mumbai," he further added.
"You want to use Tom Curran and Marcus Stoinis for a total of four overs. If you had bowled them in the death, they could have got some 70 runs to defend. You allowed them to come back into the game by bowling Stoinis and Tom Curran in the middle overs," Jadeja signed off.
