IPL 2025: There's still plenty of motivation, says coach Mott as DC look to end on high

Jaipur, May 23 (IANS) Delhi Capitals will look to conclude the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on a winning note as they take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their last match of the season at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on Saturday.

Reflecting on the campaign, Delhi Capitals assistant coach Matthew Mott said, “There's still plenty of motivation (to play this last game). Yes, we had a disappointing end to what was an encouraging campaign. We obviously came out of the box in the early stage and won a lot of games early, but the second half has been patchy. So, I think it's an opportunity for us to sign off on a positive note.”

Talking about Axar Patel’s availability, the 51-year-old said, “The honest answer is I don't fully know. He's not training today. But we’ll find out when we get back there today. Obviously, he wasn't well the other day. He's had a pretty rugged time with a few different little niggle and injuries. I'm sure he's motivated to come out and play, but we'll probably know a little bit more tonight when we go back and see the medical stuff.”

“Sameer (Rizvi) in the last game looked really good. Abhishek Porel has played some really good counter-punching knocks, and probably his next step is turning them into match-winning contributions. But throughout our group is exciting and talented,” he further said.

Delhi Capitals fell out of contention for the Playoffs spot after losing to Mumbai Indians in their previous clash at the Wankhede Stadium. They had restricted MI to 132/5 in 18 overs before Suryakumar Yadav (73 not out) and Naman Dhir (24 not out) hammered 48 runs in the last two overs to take them to 180. The Capitals' chase went haywire as Mitchell Santner (3-11) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-12) derailed them on a slightly sluggish pitch on which the odd ball was stopping and turning.

Mott lavished praise on Indian young talent and added, “Someone like Vipraj (Nigam), who came under the radar this year right from the first match, played a pivotal innings with the bat. I thought he was magnificent the other day when he came out and nearly turned the game. He's been entrusted with big overs, Power-play overs, and crucial overs.”

The Axar Patel-led side will leave no stone unturned to wrap the proceedings on a high note.

--IANS

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