Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said that he expects pitches to start favouring the spinners a little more heading into the end-stage of IPL 2024.

“In the last two weeks, we have seen the scores come down just a little bit. I think it’s the wear and tear on the wicket coming into play. It is inevitable that the pitches will start to help the spinners more” said Ponting on the eve of his side’s game against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

“The wickets we had here (in Delhi) this year have been particularly good. Tomorrow we are going to use the one from the Sunrisers Hyderabad game which was a high-scoring one. (But) Tomorrow we are expecting the surface to be a little bit slower and give a little more for the spinners,” added Ponting.

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Ponting also revealed that his team has been working on a plan to counter the Royals spin duo of R. Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.

“We know Rajasthan’s spin bowling brigade is one of their strong suits. We have to be really sharp against their spinners. Ashwin looks to maintain an end and Chahal looks to take wickets from the other end. We have some clear plans on how to play them,” said Ponting.

The former Australian skipper also gave a fitness update for David Warner and Ishant Sharma.

“They both trained yesterday. Ishant probably won’t bowl today. But we are happy with what we have seen. As of now, he is fit for selection. Warner is still yet to be passed fit. But from what I have seen yesterday, he is a whole lot better than he was a few days ago,” said Ponting.

The Royals come into the game on the back of a last-ball defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad. RR assistant coach Shane Bond though chose to look at the positives from the disappointing result for his side.

“I think it was a good game of cricket. But, I feel we should have probably won that. We were up against a high-octane batting lineup and we kept them down to 35 in the PowerPlay. We understand the challenge of playing Delhi on a small ground. That is something we want to carry forward into this game,” said Bond.

“We have lost only two games this season and both came in the last ball. So, we understand we are a tough team to beat. We think if we continue to play the game we are doing now, we are going to win games,” added Bond.