Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer says his otherwise outstanding bowlers “lost it in powerplay” after a disastrous start prevented them from posting a challenging total in the IPL final against Mumbai Indians. Losing three early wickets pegged the Capitals back as they could post only a modest 156 for seven. MI skipper Rohit Sharma then led his side to a comfortable win with his magnificent half-century. They raced to 61 for 1 in the first six overs that set a strong foundation for an easy chase. “It’s just the fatigue that crept in may be, bowlers just lost it in the Powerplay,” a disappointed Iyer said at the post-match press conference. DC captain said he does not regret his decision to bat first. After being reduced to 22 for 3, Iyer (65 off 50) and Rishabh Pant (56 off 38) stitched 96 runs for the fourth wicket to stabilise the innings.
“I thought it was a very good decision (to bat first). When you enter the final, it’s very important to get off to a good start and that’s what we lacked in this game. Obviously, there was pressure of getting a good score in the Powerplay. We had already lost three wickets so it was important that we scored runs and also save wickets at the same time,” he said.
“I think we reached to a very decent total in the Powerplay and after that we capitalised there onwards and got to a decent total until 15th over I guess but after that everything came down.”
Iyer was effusive in his praise for his bowling unit despite an off day in the summit clash. He picked purple cap winner Kagiso Rabada (30 wickets from 17 games) and veteran Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Well, they (bowlers) have been outstanding throughout. KG getting the purple cap, setting a great example for all the bowlers in the team. Also Ashwin, he has got a great mind and he knows the strategies pretty well.
“Lot of positives to take from this series and I am really happy with the overall performance in this league. Definitely lot to take away and comeback stronger in the next season,” he said.
Analysing DC’s performance this year, Iyer highlighted some grey areas where he feels the team needs to work on before the next season. “We have been lacking in starts in majority of the games. We have lost pretty early wickets in majority of the games, so that’s an area we need to work on going forward.
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“We also need to strategise our bowling plans because we have leaked a lot of runs in the Powerplay, especially in the second half of the season. It wasn’t the best of the bowling we did,” he said.
“But I am really happy with what we have achieved in the season. Obviously, majority of the things are going to be same in the next season.”
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