Don't Want To Speak Negatively About The Team: Shreyas Iyer After Heavy Loss To MI

Delhi Capitals, on Thursday, suffered a crushing 57-run loss at the hands of Mumbai Indians in the first Qualifier. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will now lock horns against the winner of the first Eliminator for a place in the final.

Chasing a mammoth total of 201, Delhi Capitals were off to a disastrous start, losing their top three without even a single run and eventually ended on 143 for 8. Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane were sent back for ducks by Trent Boult in the first over before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Shikhar Dhawan for a duck in the second over to reduce Delhi to 0 for 3.

The likes of Shreyas Iyer (12) and Rishabh Pant (3) could not deliver with the bat either as Delhi found themselves reeling at 41 for 5 in the 8th over. At one stage, it looked like they would not be able to touch even the 100-run mark but Marcus Stoinis’ 65 runs knock and Axar Patel’s 42 helped them finish on 143 for 8.

Earlier in the game, Mumbai Indians piled up 200 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs despite their captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Kieron Pollard failing to open their accounts.

Ishan Kishan top-scored for the team, scoring an unbeaten 55 while Suryakumar Yadav scored 51. Hardik Pandya provided the finishing touch by slamming an unbeaten 37 off just 14 balls with the help of five sixes.

Shreyas Iyer’s reaction:

Speaking at the end of the match, Shreyas Iyer was not to critical of his team but rued that Delhi Capitals could not capitalise after reducing Mumbai Indians to 101 for 4. He also said that the team needs to play the next game with a strong mindset after the heavy loss.

“I don’t want to speak negatively about the team, but going forward it’s important to come with a strong mindset. It’s never too late, and we’ll see to it that we come back strongly. I think we were on top when we got two quick wickets, and they were 101 for 4. We could have capitalized more at that time, and gotten two more wickets – maybe we could’ve chased around 170, but it’s part and parcel of the game. Every night can’t be yours,” said Shreyas Iyer.

He further praised spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who dismissed Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Kieron Pollard to put Delhi ahead in the early stages of the match. Shreyas Iyer concluded by praising Mumbai’s middle-order batsmen.

“Ravi Ashwin plays around with the batsmen a lot, really good to have him in the team, and he’s quite an asset for us, especially me as a captain. All their batsmen are in great touch and Hardik-Pollard down the order are incredible. You can’t control the situation when all the batsmen are in good touch, but we’ll look to do better in the next game,” he said.

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