Abu Dhabi:Ā Delhi Capitals’ captain Shreyas Iyer is pleased with his team’s performance as they came back strongly after facing four consecutive defeats in the second half of the Indian Premier League and registered a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore to seal a spot in the playoffs.
In what was a do-or-die situation, Delhi Capitals on Monday evening put up a remarkable show both with the bat and the ball as they beat Virat Kohli & Co. by six wickets in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking on the win, Iyer said, I feel it was a comprehensive victory for us. I think we really paced our innings very well, especially while chasing. And the way bowlers bowled, I think, irrespective of how the wicket played, it was really amazing bowling.
It was phenomenal to see the intensity and the energy that the boys showed on the field. What I require as a captain on the field is to see everybody putting 100 per cent effort, and I believe your attitude and body-language does matter a lot whenever you are on the field, added the 25-year-old.
Delhi lost to Mumbai on both the occasions in the league stage and thus they would be eager to avenge those losses when they face the defending champions on Thursday in Qualifier 1.
It’s an amazing feeling to be second on the table, and facing Mumbai Indians again, who have been really dominant throughout the tournament. We’ve got another opportunity to beat them, so I am sure that we will make the best use of it, said Iyer.
Meanwhile, head coach Ricky Ponting said it was the “hardest thing” to lose four matches on the trot.
I think, over the last couple of weeks, the key was to make sure that the confidence was still up. You know whenever you lose a few games in a row at the back-end of the tournament, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to change the momentum. But, credit to the boys – they were outstanding. You could see different energy around the group that really set the tempo for the whole game, said Ponting.
It wasn’t the perfect game but it was a really good, solid performance that we needed to put up. They (RCB) are a really good side, and we won with an over to spare, which in T20 cricket is quite a big margin. So we can look ahead now to MI, who have beaten us twice in this tournament, and make sure we are ready to go for them in a few days, he added.
Commenting on the challenges that playing after lockdown and life inside the bio-secure bubble pose, Ponting said it has been hard for everyone.
I think there have been a lot of challenges, through this tournament as well, with three and a half weeks training before our first game, being in a bubble, in a lock-down. It’s been hard, and I think every team at some stage was just a little bit of down because of that – ours just happened in the last couple of weeks, but now that we have won the game, this could be a real moment for us to make sure to gear up for the last 10 days of the tournament, said the former Australia captain.