IPL 2021: Shreyas Iyer Says His Camaraderie With Rishabh Pant Has Turned Pretty Awesome

Delhi Capitals batsman Shreyas Iyer shared his experience on batting with skipper Rishabh Pant over the last five years.

Delhi Capitals defeated Rajasthan Royals on Saturday by 33 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. After losing the toss, Rishabh Pant and his men were asked to bat first and lost both the openers in powerplay overs as the team’s score read 36/2 at the end of six overs.

Rishabh Pant keeps me relaxed at the other end: Shreyas Iyer

Iyer and Pant steadied the Capitals ship with a 62-run alliance for the third wicket as the Mumbai batsman scored 43 from 32 balls, his innings included one boundary and a couple of sixes.

Pant made a run-a-ball 24, and his innings was ended by Bangladesh’s left-arm pacer Mustafiur Rahman, who used his famous off-cutter that got an under edge of the batsman before crashing onto his stumps.

Iyer said that he backed his instincts in his innings against Rajasthan Royals and also mentioned that his camaraderie with Pant has built over five years while batting together.

“To be honest I really didn’t know how it was playing (the pitch) so I backed myself. Decided that whatever happens, I’m just going to back my instincts, see the ball closely and try to hit in the gaps, and take over the spinners later on,” Iyer said in the post-match presentation ceremony. 

“And then Rishabh came in and we got a partnership of 50 runs. We’ve been batting for the last 5 years together playing for the same franchise. 

“The camaraderie and gelling has turned pretty awesome over the last few years. He takes on the bowler as soon as he comes in. Really relaxes me at the other end. That communication has been set,” he added.

Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw are aggressive batsmen: Shreyas Iyer

Dhawan is currently leading the charts of the most IPL runs this season, and along with Shaw, the Delhi Capitals openers have been hard to deal with by the bowlers. But on Saturday, it wasn’t the same thing as both the batsmen got out cheaply.

Iyer backed the openers and recalled their contributions to the team in the previous matches.

“Both of them (Dhawan and Shaw) are aggressive batsmen, just didn’t work out for them today. Whenever they get going, they give us a good start. Today unfortunately it didn’t happen, so I was like we have to build a partnership here,” Iyer said. 

Delhi Capitals are back to the top of the points table after their victory against Rajasthan Royals. They are just one win shy of booking the playoffs berth in IPL 2021.

Also Read: IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant Is Leading Really Well, I Respect Team’s Decision To Continue With Him: Shreyas Iyer