Ricky Ponting thrilled as Delhi Capitals enters maiden title clash

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting expressed his excitement after the franchise qualified for the maiden IPL final and said ‘it is a great reward for all the hard work’ players have done so far.

Delhi defeated SunRisers Hyderabad by 17-run in Qualifier 2 on Sunday and secured their final berth. Shreyas Iyer-led side will now meet the defending champion Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.

Taking to Twitter Ponting wrote, “Thrilled for the boys to make it through to @delhicapitals first IPL final, it’s a great reward for all the hard work they’ve put in since we got here and gelled together as a group. One more step to go.”

Kagiso Rabada took four wickets while Marcus Stoinis scalped three wickets as Delhi Capitals defended a total of 189 runs. For SunRisers, Kane Williamson played a knock of 67 runs while youngster Abdul Samad added 33 runs but the duo failed to bat till the final over.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan and Shimron Hetmyer played knocks of 78 and 42 respectively as Delhi Capitals posted a total of 189/3 in the allotted 20 overs.

In the final four overs, Delhi Capitals managed to add 44 more runs to their total and as a result, the side posted a score of more than the 180-run mark. Dhawan was the top-scorer as he played a knock of 78 runs, while Hetmyer remained unbeaten on 42.