After Delhi Capitals’ (DC) fifth consecutive loss in IPL 2023, former India head coach Ravi Shastri had a fun jab at ex-BCCI president and current DC director of cricket Sourav Ganguly. On Saturday, April 15, DC was unable to keep up with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) 174/6 after winning the toss and posting 151/9 in the 20th game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Ravi Shastri was live on the air as the Royal Challengers Bangalore closed in on a remarkable victory. He commented:
“Sourav Ganguly, the former president of the board. He must have thought it’s nice upstairs!”
The 60-year-old said in response to Delhi’s dismal run that things have been incredibly difficult for the team ever since they started a losing streak. Shastri remarked that the franchise contains a number of individuals who are not accustomed to losing:
“Problem now with Delhi Capitals is, especially with the way the other teams are going, you lose four on the trot, it becomes very, very difficult to come back. There are people in that dugout that are not used to losing. Ricky Ponting’s one. David Warner too. He’s been on the winning side as well.”
It’s not about losing. It’s about being hammered. It’s five on the trot, with you not looking like winning. Losing close games is one thing, but when you’re being outplayed by the opposition, it’s not a happy story.”
“It is a matter of starting well with the bat”: Warner
After another disappointing loss, DC captain David Warner stated that too many wickets were lost. Despite the team doing well in bowling and fielding, Warner conceded that a period of reflection is needed to move forward. During the post-match conference, he opined:
“I said at the toss we needed to do all disciplines well, but we lost three early wickets and we didn’t chase down what should have been an easy chase. They (RCB) came out and started well with the ball, Siraj was outstanding. The positives were good – bowling and fielding was exceptional, the energy we showed was great too.
“Have to go back, we have five days off, have a hard look at ourselves, we need to do better with the bat and build partnerships at the top of the order. It is a matter of starting well with the bat. Teams have come back well from this position before and we can go on and do better.”