In fact, during the post-match interview, the expert commentator asked what Ponting told him at the post-match tete-a-tete. However, Pant preferred to interpret it as a question on pre-match strategy and replied that Ponting had asked him to keep things simple!
In a post-match analysis, specialist commentator and former India coach Ravi Shastri said that it was a no-brainer that the DRS should have been taken. Five overs to go and DC still have both DRS appeals in hand. Shastri didn’t even bother to explain. Which was that it was worth taking the opportunity to go for the DRS as the key player to get rid of David.
During the live telecast of the match, there was a loud groan of DC supporters in the crowd when replays showed a spike at Ultra Edge, when the ball hit David’s bat. Expert commentators like Graeme Swann said that Pant could not have the confidence to take the DRS as he had given a straight chance in the first match when MI one-down batsman Donald Brevis skidded the ball.
The question that arises is why didn’t Shardul Thakur insist on taking DRS if he was sure that Tim David had put the ball in the keeper’s glove? As a bowler, Thakur would have had a frontal and better view of the edge than keeper Pant.
The DC captain’s failure to pick up the DRS is the focus of the match, with expert commentators such as Graeme Swann pointing out that Pant lacked the coolness associated with the legendary former Indian wicketkeeper-captain Dhoni, who would continue to lead the Chennai Super Kings. Huh. IPL.
However, is it fair to compare the 24-year-old DC captain with the 40-year-old Dhoni, who was older today than Pant at the time of his international debut? Doni has played 15 seasons of IPL. This is Pant’s sixth season.
Ponting is quoted as saying that he told Pant after the match, “I was disappointed with the tact we did at the end of the game. The way we bowled and the grounds that were set up. “The number of players at the crease, given the conditions and the type. I think we did a lot of these things wrong.”
The problem with what Ponting said to Pat is that it makes sense if it comes from an expert commentator who is only analyzing the game. As a seasoned coach, Ponting could certainly provide the necessary guidance during the match. All Ponting had to do was to send a substitute fielder to Pant to provide the necessary guidance between overs or during two time-outs and suggest desired changes through bowling and field placement.
In a crucial game where skipper Pant was not only one of the main batsmen but also the focus keeper on every ball, it is possible to commit errors of judgment at crucial moments. That pressure on the captain could and should have been relieved by putting the team-management in a better position to sit on the sidelines and evaluate things objectively.
For example, when MI bowled, the spinners were not getting much buy from the wicket and were being patted by the DC batsmen. It was the MI pacers who put the DC batsmen under pressure.
Similarly, when MI were chasing a modest DC total of 159, the batsmen were under pressure from four pacers Khaleel Ahmed, Nortje, Thakur and Mitchell Marsh. However, after the first six overs were bowled and area restrictions were eased, Marsh was immediately replaced with spinners when he went for just 7 runs in a two-over spell. Marsh was not bowled for the rest of the match.
Certainly, with a time-out of 150 seconds to be taken after the first six overs, Ponting could have advised Pant on the MI batsmen through Marsh and Thakur, reserving Khaleel Ahmed and Nortje for the final overs. Keep applying pressure. The spinners could have been introduced after Marsh had completed his four-over spell.
Making Pant a fall man doesn’t really serve any purpose, even though Ponting later said that the DC captain was only 24 and would learn from his mistakes. As per his comments at the end of the game, Ponting was aware that the young captain was under pressure. Certainly, the coach could have relieved the captain’s stress by providing necessary guidance during the match, either between overs or during two time-outs.
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