Rajasthan Royals defeated last year's runners-up Delhi Capitals by three wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
It was a low-scoring match as DC put up 147/8 batting first and RR chased it down with just two balls to spare on a tricky wicket thanks to Chris Morris's late blitz of 36 off 18 balls.
After the Capitals' defeat, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra questioned Rishabh Pant's decision of not letting off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowl his full quota of overs.
Ashwin conceded just 14 runs and no boundaries in his three overs after being brought in following the powerplay.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Nehra said, "Ravichandran Ashwin bowled just three overs. In the 148-run chase, there was a phase when Rajasthan Royals had lost 5 top-order batters and two left-handers – David Miller and Rahul Tewatia – were at the crease. You could have used Ashwin then. When Tewatia got out and Miller and Morris paired up, then you had the choice to deploy Ashwin. Royals were six down then, and had Ashwin taken another one at that point of time, DC would have won the game there itself.”
“Before handing an over to Stoinis, Ashwin should have completed his 4-over spell,” he added.
Even DC coach Ricky Ponting admitted after the match that not giving Ashwin his full quota of overs was "probably a mistake".
With two left-handers -- David Miller (62) and Rahul Tewatia (19) -- in the middle, new skipper Rishabh Pant introduced Marcus Stoinis in the attack instead of continuing with Ashwin in the 13th over.
The Australian conceded 15 runs, which included three fours, taking RR from 58/5 to 73/5 to effectively shift the momentum.
"That's certainly something that we will talk about when I get a chance to sit down with the team. He had bowled beautifully. Three overs, none for 14. Hadn't even conceded a boundary," Ponting said in a virtual press conference.
He added, "Ashwin had a disappointing game in game one, but he has worked really hard in the last few days to make sure he adjusted and got things right in this game."
The Delhi Capitals will next play against the Punjab Kings on Sunday in Mumbai.
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