Shame that Delhi Capitals couldn't make it to IPL final: Mitchell Marsh

Delhi Capitals all-rounder Mitchell Marsh feels that it's a "shame" that his team couldn't make it to the IPL final after losing the final league encounter to wooden spooners Mumbai Indians. DC's five-wicket defeat enabled Royal Challengers Bangalore to make it despite an inferior net run-rate throughout the tournament. "It was a shame we couldn't get into the (IPL) finals," the 30-year-old said here ahead of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, beginning on June 7.

Australia will meet Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series. Marsh overcame a bout of Covid-19 in the first-half of the tournament and formed the backbone of Delhi top-order with his Australian teammate David Warner. Coach Ricky Ponting entrusted him with batting at No 3 as he scored 251 runs at a strike-rate of 132.80.

"Everyone speaks about him (Ponting) so much and what he's achieved in the game. But I got a real sense of how much he cares for his players - I guess that's probably what he was like as a captain and a leader of a team," he said. "I got the real sense for how he (head coach Ricky Ponting) cares for his players and that was probably how he was as a captain and a leader of a team -- it's the way he makes you feel.

He made me feel like a really important player for Delhi," he added. On overcoming Covid-19, he said: "After my first couple of weeks, there I thought that I was cursed in India," he said. "I got through my initial injury - which was very minor – but then to play one game and get COVID, it was a bit of a shaky start but once I got going it was nice to put a few consistent performances on the board.