Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Shreyas Iyer expressed his immense happiness after leading the side to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) final. DC defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 17 runs to seal their spot in the IPL 2020 final, where they will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI). Iyer termed qualification for a historic final, as the “best feeling ever” in a season which he believed had been a “rollercoaster”. The 25-year-old further hailed the team spirit of his side by stating that the players had stuck together like a family, despite “a lot of ups and downs”.
“This is the best feeling ever. This has been a rollercoaster. A lot of ups and downs. We have stuck together like a family,” said Shreyas Iyer during the post-match conference when asked to share his feelings following the triumph.
Iyer hailed the coaching staff as well as the owners for providing a lot of support, as he went about juggling the dual roles of being the captain as well as a batsman.
“A lot of responsibility comes as a captain, and on top of that you have to maintain consistency as a batsman. But I feel I have been getting a lot of support from my coaches and the owners. Really fortunate to have such an amazing team,” he added.
The DC skipper further discussed the team’s strategy after winning the toss and opting to bat, with quality bowlers like Rashid Khan to negotiate.
“We were going at 10 an over, but Rashid can be lethal so we decided to play him out,” Iyer said.
“We were lacking in our opening partnership, and we needed that rocket start. We thought if Stoinis plays the maximum deliveries, he could give us a push,” Iyer said about the decision to open with Marcus Stoinis.
Promoted
Marcus Stoinis was sent in to open the innings alongside Shikhar Dhawan, after a poor run for Prithvi Shaw at the top of the order. Stoinis delivered a quick-fire start, smashing 38 runs off 27 deliveries. The Australian’s cameo along with a half-century from Dhawan helped ensure a strong platform for DC, which Shimron Hetmyer took full advantage of leading the side to a total of 189.
Kagiso Rabada and Stoinis made their presence felt during the second innings accounting for four and three wickets respectively, as SRH were restricted to 172 despite a fighting half-century from Kane Williamson.
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