IPL 2019: Shreyas Iyer believes Delhi Capitals can win the title this year

Delhi has won five out of its eight games so far and is currently second in the IPL 2019 points table.

Delhi won the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 39 runs | IANS

Three consecutive away wins have given a lot of confidence to Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer as he now reckons that his talented side has what it takes to clinch its maiden Indian Premier League title this year. 

Delhi followed its dominating victories against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, with another solid performance and 39-run win versus Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday (April 14). 

"We are believing so and it’s never too far," said Iyer after having won at the post-match presentation ceremony. 

Earlier, batting first, Delhi Capitals posted a modest first innings 155/7 in its allotted 20 overs, on the back of Colin Munro (40), Shreyas Iyer (45) and Rishabh Pant (23). Actually, Delhi looked set for more, before it lost its way at the end. 

"It started to slow down," added Iyer, who had an invaluable 56-run fourth wicket partnership with Rishabh Pant. "Me and Pant had decided so that one of us will take the charge. We got a little cameo from Keemo and Axar and helped us get to that total."

"We have played together (Rabada and himself during U-19 days). It is good to be around each other. It is easy to have that camaraderie. It is a positive thing to carry around. We are positive as well when we chase. We will be backing our abilities."

Delhi seemed well short of an ideal target at the halfway mark, and yet it eventually defended its target by an incredible margin of 39 runs. Kagiso Rabada (4/22) and Keemo Paul (3/22) delivered magnificent spells and won the game for their team, with able support from Ishant Sharma (0/19) and Amit Mishra (0/13). 

Rabada, who as of now is the joint leading wicket-taker of IPL this year with Chennai Super Kings leg-spinner Imran Tahir, also responded over the outstanding win and said, "We have our game plans and all that we try to do is to stick to it. We hope it goes our way and more often than not, it should go your way. It’s been the trend so far, you need to have variety in your pace. We try to talk about change-ups especially if wickets are assisting those type of changes."

"It worked for us today. In many ways, you do have a responsibility as an overseas player. We are working on all the departments and it’s working well for us."

West Indies quick Keemo Paul was adjudged "Player-of-the-Match" on the night for his excellent all-round performance, and he said, "This is a dream come true for me. It is the biggest league in the world and why not enjoy it. Went back of the hand and it worked for me."

"I just tried to adapt to the wicket, just bowled to suit the wicket. The slower balls were gripping. This game is all about confidence. I have not been getting much to contribute with the bat so wanted to contribute more."

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson was left quite disappointed by the overall performance from his unit. SRH has now suffered three consecutive losses in IPL 2019 and must quickly bounce back as the race to make it to the top-four stiffens up. 

"I thought the first half with the ball was a really good effort," said Williamson. "It was a bare surface, probably a 160 surface. We tried in the second half but never got going with partnerships. Unfortunate performance but credit to Delhi the way they played."

"There was never any complacency in a tournament like this. Any team on the table can beat anybody. For us, it’s about executing our plans and play our style of cricket. It’s one of those things. The two at the top of the order have been prolific. Delhi adapted well on this surface and used their changes of pace."

(Inputs from PTI)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 15 Apr, 2019

    Share Via