Shreyas Iyer was an elated captain as Delhi Capitals registered a convincing seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders at the iconic Eden Gardens on Friday (April 12).

Put into bat first, KKR rode on Shubman Gill’s 39-ball 65 and Andre Russell’s 21-ball 45 to post 178/7 in 20 overs. Delhi bowlers made a remarkable comeback in the last five overs to restrict the home team under 200. While Chris Morris (2/38), Kagiso Rabada (2/42) and Keemo Paul (2/46) claimed two scalps each, Ishant Sharma (1/21) chipped in with a wicket.

In reply, Delhi lost Prithvi Shaw (14) and Shreyas Iyer (6) inside the powerplay. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant added 105 runs for the third wicket to put DC on the brink of victory. After Pant’s dismissal on 46 off 31 deliveries, Dhawan (97 not out of 63 balls) along with Colin Ingram (14* off 6 balls) guided the team over the line with seven balls to spare. With this win, Delhi Capitals also climbed up to fourth spot on the points table.  

Speaking after the match, Iyer expressed his satisfaction at the position his team now finds itself.

“It’s an amazing feeling, before the game I was just recollecting the last win. Today is a special day for us because now we’ve won four out of seven for the first time since the time I’ve been playing here. So yes, good to get back-to-back victories and I am feeling satisfied with our results thus far,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The DC skipper also lauded veteran left-hander Dhawan for batting with responsibility

“It’s amazing to watch Shikhar bat. We had discussed that either one of the batsmen in the top order had to take that responsibility and bat till the end. Today, he came out and delivered for the team. We cherish it every time he’s around. He’s an amazing personality to have in the team and the experience he shares with everyone is unlimited,” he added.

Delhi Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next match on Sunday (April 14) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.