NEW DELHI:
Delhi Capitals (DC) assistant coach
Shane Watson came in support of Prithvi Shaw for his dismal run in the
Indian Premier League (
IPL). Baking out-of-form Shaw, Watson said that a “player like Prithvi does not just fall out of a tree.”
Shaw came in as an impact player against RCB on Saturday and was run-out for a duck in the first over by a spectacular direct-hit from RCB’s impact player Anuj Rawat.
The DC opener punched one to extra cover where Rawat dived to his right, got up instantly and scored a direct hit at the non-striker’s end as Shaw was found short.
RCB vs DC Highlights 2023: Debutant Vyshak, Kohli star in RCB win; DC suffer fifth loss on trot
The 23-year-old has a terrible run of form in the 2023 IPL as he has scored 34 runs from five innings with a highest score of 15.
“Prithvi came off after sitting for 20 overs until the impact player rules came in. Otherwise, he would be out there running around ready to take off and run that a little bit faster. Prithvi is as skilled as any other batter in India. And everyone has seen that from the time he made his Test debut. The biggest thing for him is just to be able to allow himself to access the skills with no fear of making a mistake or getting out,” Watson said in a post-match press conference.
“He can take down the best bowlers in the world and in all conditions. A player like Prithvi does not just fall out of a tree,” he added.
Not just Shaw, the entire Delhi-based franchise is struggling this season as they are still awaiting their first win of the season.
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IPL 2023: Debutant Vyshak, Kohli star as RCB hand DC fifth loss on the trot
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<p>Vijaykumar Vyshak claimed three wickets on debut to complement Virat Kohli’s imperious fifty as Royal Challengers Bangalore returned to winning ways with a dominant 23-run victory over Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League match in Bengaluru on Saturday.<br /></p>
<p>Kohli (50 off 34 balls) slammed his third fifty in four innings — with the help of six boundaries and a six — before left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (4-1-23-2) led Delhi Capitals’ charge in the middle overs to restrict RCB to 174/6 after David Warner opted to bowl.<br /><br /></p>
<p>The bottom-placed Delhi side, who came into the match after four losses on the trot, then made a mockery of the 175-run chase as they were restricted to 151/9 in the stipulated 20 overs.<br /></p>
<p>Delhi lost four wickets in the powerplay, including that of skipper Warner (19 off 13 balls), and they were 2 runs for 3 wickets at one stage.</p>
<p>Yet to open their account after five matches, time is running out for the Ricky Ponting-coached side. They now have the difficult task of winning eight out of their remaining nine matches to secure a play-off berth.<br /></p>
<p>RCB, on the other hand, got their campaign back on track after back-to-back losses as they have four points from as many matches.<br /></p>
<p>Vyshak, who was handed his debut in place of Karn Sharma, got his maiden wicket in the form of Warner with a slower delivery, en route to his memorable haul of 3/20.<br /></p>
<p>The 26-year-old varied his pace and mixed his length well to trouble the batters as he went on to take two more wickets — that of Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav — as DC were reduced to 110/8 inside 16 overs.<br /></p>
<p>After Warner (19 off 13 balls) got out cheaply, Manish Pandey waged a lone battle with a 37-ball 50, his 22nd fifty of the tournament. But the wily Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva trapped Pandey, following a smart review, and it was all but over for DC.<br /></p>
<p>Continuing his horror run, Prithvi Shaw (0) got out for his fifth single-digit score from eight IPL innings when he became victim of a terrific run-out by Impact Player sub Anuj Rawat. Shaw now has 34 runs, including two ducks, from five innings in this IPL.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Earlier, DC bowlers did well to restrict RCB to 174 for 6. RCB were 110 for 2 in 12 overs but they managed to add just 64 runs for the loss of four wickets in the last eight overs.<br /></p>
<p>RCB were going all guns blazing with Kohli and Glenn Maxwell (24 off 14 balls) who was in a six-hitting spree. But the DC spin trio of Kuldeep, Axar Patel (3-0-25-1) and Lalit Yadav (4-0-29-1) seized the momentum.<br /></p>
<p>Mitchell Marsh (2/18 from two overs), who rejoined the team after his wedding, also made a significant contribution with wickets of RCB captain Faf Du Plessis and Mahipal Lomror.<br /></p>
<p>The famed Kohli-du Plessis opening duo got going without any fuss, scoring 33 runs in four overs. Kohli hammered Anrich Nortje for a fine boundary, while the South African upped the ante with a couple of fours.<br /><br /></p>
<p>With Kohli in the box seat, RCB looked in a comfort zone at 89/1 at the halfway mark. But then, RCB found themselves on the backfoot and were reduced to 132/6 after Kuldeep grabbed the wickets of Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik (0) off successive deliveries.<br /></p>
<p>The double-wicket maiden over was preceded by Axar’s dismissal of Harshal Patel as DC secured a team hat-trick to turn it around in the 15th over. Wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel appealed for an LBW and the review showed a faint spike off the bat as Harshal ended up being dismissed caught-behind.<br /><br /></p>
<p>It was Lalit who dismissed Kohli with a big full toss. The star Indian batter perished, failing to clear the midwicket boundary.<br /></p>
Virat Kohli sparkled with the bat with a breezy 50 off 34 balls to help RCB post a competitive 174/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak then impressed on debut with a brilliant spell of 3/20 as a collective bowling and a fine fielding effort saw them restrict DC to 151/9 and hand them their fifth loss in five matches on Saturday.
Speaking on match results, Watson said that the team’s biggest issue is losing wickets in the powerplay as they are not executing well enough with the bat.
“Unfortunately, we were not able to put together good batting innings. Our biggest issue at this point in time is losing wickets in the first six overs and then consistently losing wickets. We were not able to put a partnership together and get some momentum especially on a ground like Chinnaswamy, if you can set a platform here you can score a lot of runs in the last 10 overs
We just are not executing well enough with the bat to be able to get through with the best bowlers with a brand-new ball. We are working with individuals ? and right now just the way they are executing is not going as per the plan. They are not getting through the first 10-15 balls to be able to set a platform for their own innings,” Watson said.
In search of their first win of the season, the Capitals will host Kolkata Knight Riders in their next fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
