New Delhi, Apr 27: Former West Indies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite believes Delhi Capitals (DC) did not show enough proactiveness with the ball in the powerplay, allowing Punjab Kings (PBKS) to stay ahead in their record-breaking chase of 265 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. Brathwaite pointed to lapses in DC’s bowling plans despite having a daunting total to defend and also raised questions about the lesser use of Natarajan in the first six overs.
“When you bat and score 200 and a lot, you don’t necessarily need to be defensive, but have a mindset that this can be scored. I saw Natarajan bowl just one over in the power play. They could have been a little bit more proactive,” said Braithwaite. Defending 264 for 2, powered by KL Rahul’s unbeaten 152 and Nitish Rana’s 91, DC handed four of the first five overs to Mukesh Kumar and Auqib Nabi, who conceded a combined 87 runs.
Captain Axar Patel also went for 20 in his over as PBKS raced to 116 without loss in the powerplay.Brathwaite felt DC missed an opportunity to apply early pressure by not using their key bowlers upfront.“ Get Kuldeep on early. He may not get a wicket, but he may stem the flow of runs for an over. Natarajan took the pitch out of play. If Natarajan and Kuldeep had bowled three out of the first six overs, and PBKS had scored 65 in the powerplay, PBKS would have so much more to do,” he said.