'Want to make sure this becomes a fortress for us' - DC Head Coach Ponting ahead of first home game in Delhi

New Delhi, 19 April 2024: With two clinical wins under their belt, the Delhi Capitals will look to complete a hat-trick of wins when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday, April 20. 

Speaking about playing the home match in Delhi for the first time in the season, Delhi Capitals' Head Coach Ricky Ponting said, "We're really excited to be back. It's the home ground. We want to make sure this becomes a fortress for us when opposition teams come here. So, we're excited to be here and hopefully, we can start our home campaign well tomorrow."

"On the back of the WPL, we wanted to ensure that we had some grass back on and the wickets could potentially play a bit better than they have done for us in the last couple of years," he further added while talking about the pitch condition at Arun Jaitley Stadium. 

Their opponents for the next game, Sunrisers Hyderabad have broken the highest total record twice this season. They are currently placed fourth in the points table with four wins, two losses in six matches. Speaking about the match-up against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Ponting said, "We don't mind having a shootout tomorrow if it's a high-scoring game, so be it."

"We know and expect that they're going to play the way they've played so far in the tournament which has been going hard at the top of the order with the bat, and trying to post a big first innings total. So, we're happy to try and match them in that. We think we've got as good a batting line-up if not better batting line-up than theirs."

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Ponting also provided an update on David Warner's fitness. He said, "He was 85 or 90 per cent fit a couple of days ago. We'd expect that there'd be a little bit more improvement from him today. But he'll have to do a lot of batting today against fast bowling to make sure that the pain he had last week is not anymore. So, hopefully, he's fit and ready."

The Delhi Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next match of IPL 2024 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.