Delhi Capitals bowling coach Ryan Harris during a team's training session in Sharjah.
Having suffered their first defeat of the IPL 2020 season against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, JSW and GMR co-owned franchise Delhi Capitals will be looking to bounce back from the result on Saturday as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Sharjah.
Speaking ahead of the game, Delhi Capitals’ Bowling Coach Ryan Harris believes his team was not at their best in their last match, and is not in a panic situation at all. “Coming off an unlucky loss, we just weren't at our best for that game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. But, there’s no panicking by any means,” he said.
“When you look back at it, a couple of balls during our bowling were a little bit of a miss, and they (SRH) probably ran better between the wickets, we didn't run as well. But 15 runs is not a huge gap,” said Harris on the 15-run loss against Hyderabad.
Talking about his team’s opponents on Saturday against whom the Delhi Capitals have played 23 times - winning 10 and losing 13 matches, Harris said they are expecting a good match against a strong team. "They (KKR) are a pretty good side and are playing good cricket, with some huge players. We are in the middle of the research at the moment to find out how we’re going to bowl to them, and face their bowlers,” said Harris.
Delhi Capitals will also play in Sharjah for the first time this season tomorrow, and Harris is expecting a high-scoring encounter. “Obviously, it's a new ground for us and games there have been pretty high-scoring, so it's the other element we are looking at, at the moment,” expressed the former Australian pacer.
Giving an update on Ravichandran Ashwin’s injury, Harris said, “He’s doing excellent. He had a really good session last night with the ball, bat and in the field. So he might be available for selection for tomorrow, but we are still waiting for our medical staff’s confirmation this evening.”
Harris was also asked to comment on the visible tough competition in the initial few matches of IPL 2020. “Coming into the tournament, everyone was saying the same thing that there are no clear favourites this season. I think the competition this year is probably the closest that I can remember and I’ve been involved in a few seasons overall. I think everyone is virtually sitting on the same points, it is going to be close. The games that come down to the wire are the ones you need to win to make sure you’re in those playoffs spots or in the top-two positions,” he said.
“With this whole COVID situation, the guys didn’t really train before coming here, but put in some excellent work into the nets session for the three weeks leading up to the tournament. Coming into the game, we backed off a bit to make sure our energy levels were recharged. It’s now important to make sure the boys can maintain their energy levels, and not get cooked up. T20 is a fast game and the boys need all their energy, so we’re making sure to give them sufficient rest as well in between matches,” signed off Harris, commenting on the importance of rest and recovery.
