Dhawan praises Ganguly, Ponting for Delhi’s success

New Delhi, April 16 (IANS) A newly formed Indian Premier League franchise -- Delhi Capitals -- has performed exceptionally well in the IPL and have grabbed the second spot in the points-table. The Shreyas Iyer-led side looks to seal a play-off berth and also clinch the title.

Everything is new in this Delhi side -- the management, players as well as support staff. But opener Shikhar Dhawan attributes the success to its coaches -- Ricky POnting and Sourav Ganguly.

"It has been a good season for us. The franchise started with a clean slate," Dhawan said on the sidelines of a function, organised by Fortis Healthcare and Delhi Capitals, to raise awareness about organ donation.

"The support of coaches Ponting and Ganguly has been very good. Their experience as captains helped the team. Also, the belief they instilled in players made the difference," said Dhawan. He has amassed 256 runs from eight innings.

"At the same time, youngsters in the team are maturing and playing well. Even experienced players can learn a lot from youngsters, provided you have an open mind. That's the beauty of cricket," he said.

On April 12 at the Eden Gardens, Dhawan missed a century against Kolkata Knight Riders by just three runs as his teammate Colin Ingram hit a six to give Capitals a seven-wicket victory.

But he has no regrets. "I was not thinking of the century. It was more important to win the match. At that time it was important to hold on to my wicket. If I had fallen my team would have come under pressure. I wanted to take the team over the line because we had lost a couple of matches from a winning position," he said.

On the Indian squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup, slated in England and Wales from May 30, Dhawan said it's strong. "For the world cup, we have a good and a strong side. We are looking forward to competition. We will perform really well once we get there," he said.