New Delhi [India], May 18 : Following the win in their final home game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), DC head coach Hemang Badani hailed Australian pace veteran Mitchell Starc as "one of the best role models anyone can have" for his work ethic and involvement with the youngsters.
Starc's momentum shifting four wicket haul and half-centuries from KL Rahul and Abishek Porel helped the Capitals keep their playoff hopes alive mathematically and end their horrific five-match losing streak at home, ending the run at Arun Jaitley Stadium with a dominant five-wicket win.
Speaking during the presser about Starc, Badani hailed his preparation, work ethic, and how he wins major competitions for his team almost single-handedly.
"I think he is possibly one of the best role models anyone can have in sport. His work ethic to himself, his preparation before the game, with his own plans and his training, is above par," said Badani.
"I do not even see that with a lot of the younger boys. That is the reason why he has sustained for so long, and if you go back and see the recent Ashes series, he single-handedly won them the Ashes. There was no Pat Cummins, there was no Josh Hazlewood. That pretty much tells you what that man can do," he added.
Badani said that Starc is always talking to the youngsters and trying to pass on his experience.
"How can you do reverse swing? How do I hold lengths? What do I do when a certain batter is going hard? Do I look to pitch it up? Do I look to try to be submissive and defensive? There is immense conversation that Starcy brings to the table and I think as I said earlier, being slightly repetitive, massive role model," he continued.
In five matches this season, Starc has taken nine wickets for DC at an average of 22.00 and an economy rate of 10.42, with best figures of 4/40. Despite missing the first half, he is already DC's second-highest wicket-taker with only captain Axar Patel and pacer Lungi Ngidi (10) ahead of him.
Badani also spoke very highly of young all-rounder Madhav Tiwari, who has produced two fine spells of two wickets each in his two IPL matches so far. The head coach said that he is someone "who likes pressure" and can hit a long ball, bowl through all the phases of the innings.
"If required, he could even bowl in the powerplay, which you have not seen much of it yet, but you could see in the last game that he could move the ball and there was some shape when he bowled. Again, in the middle overs and end overs, he has shown his prowess, so that is pretty much the reason why we felt that he could be a part of our squad," he added.
Coming to the match, DC won the toss and opted to bowl first. After the early dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (46 in 21 balls, with five fours and three sixes) and Dhruv Jurel put on a 70-run stand. Later, Jurel also provided support to skipper Riyan Parag, who registered his second fifty this season with 51 in 26 balls, with three fours and five sixes. But from 162/2, RR collapsed to 193/8 in 20 overs, with Mitchell Starc (4/39), Lungi Ngidi (2/24) and Madhav Tiwari (2/27) tightening the screws.
During the chase, Abhisek (51 in 31 balls, with seven fours and a six) and KL Rahul (56 in 42 balls, with a four and three sixes) put on a 105-run stand, after which they sank to 153/4. Knocks from skipper Axar Patel (34* in 18 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Ashutosh Sharma (18*) finished off the chase with five wickets and four balls in hand.
DC is in seventh place, with six wins and seven losses, giving them 12 points. RR is placed fifth, with six wins and six losses, giving them 12 points.