Their campaign was not off to the best of starts with an injury to their senior pacer, Ishant Sharma, and the team guilty of a sloppy display on the field which led to a loss, but Abishek Porel's scintillating cameo was a big positive, said Delhi Capitals' assistant coach Pravin Amre.

Delhi brought in Porel as an Impact Player in the death overs after the other batters failed to get going. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batter from Bengal smashed an unbeaten 32 off 10 balls to help his side post 174/9. However, the total was not enough as Delhi suffered a four-wicket loss in their IPL opener against Punjab Kings on Saturday.

"Not the start we wanted, every team wants to start on a winning note. But there are a lot of positives from the game, our intent in batting was good. We were in a good position, then back-to-back wickets in the middle overs cost us but we came back.

"We can also see the positive about Abishek Porel, the guy who came in and scored runs at a strike rate of more than 300. He got us to the par score of 170-plus," Amre said.

The match also marked skipper Rishabh Pant's comeback to cricket after 15 months following a horrific car crash. "Sometimes as coaches, we don't get emotional, but this was emotional. Personally, it was special because I have closely seen his journey since his initial days. We are really happy with the way he conducted himself, handling that kind of pressure."

Delhi were also dealt a major blow as Ishant sustained an ankle injury. "In the bowling, I think Ishant's injury cost us. When you lose your main bowler it becomes difficult," Amre said.

Delhi play Rajasthan Royals next on March 28.

With inputs from PTI