Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Shreyas Iyer assessed his team's defeat on Sunday (October 11) in Abu Dhabi against Mumbai Indians (MI), saying the defending champions "outplayed us in all three departments".
Batting first after winning the toss, DC posted fighting but hardly intimidating total of 162/4 in 20 overs, before seeing the opposition comfortably chase those down in the second half with still five wickets left in the tank in Match 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Read Also: Krunal Pandya pinpoints major factors behind MI’s 5-wicket win over DC
Missing their two key players in Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer, DC lost early wickets, which made Shikhar Dhawan (69) and Iyer (42) hold back a gear.
They then stitched an 85-run stand and looked to bat deep into the innings to try and cover for the lack of usual final flourish that Pant, Hetmyer tend to provide them. In-form all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (13) had a rare failure.
In the second half, barring ace quick Kagiso Rabada (2/28), DC bowlers failed to stem the run-flow against MI's Quinton de Kock (53) and Suryakumar Yadav (53) & co.
"From the batting point of view, I think we paced the innings really well, we lost of a couple of wickets in the powerplay, but after that, myself and Shikhar made a good partnership we lost the wicket of Marcus Stoinis in the 16th over where he was hitting the ball really well, we slipped from there and we lost 10-15 runs," said Iyer during the post-match press conference, as quoted by ANI.
"I would really give credit to Mumbai Indians' spinners, they did not give us a single opportunity to take them on. I think they really outplayed us in all three departments, the credit goes to their spinners, they bowled really well and they bowled as per their plans," he added.
Iyer felt the surface also wasn't one where DC batsmen could just play through the line when they intended to.
"When we were batting, I personally felt that it was stopping a bit and it was also sticking when the seamers were bowling, the wicket has changed, the game between KKR and KXIP was played on the same wicket we played so I feel it was stopping a little bit, in the second half, I think all the wickets will play the same," said the captain.
Despite the loss, Iyer said there are positives to take forward, none more than the return to form for Dhawan, who made his first fifty-plus score of the season.
"It was important for us to get Shikhar back in form, he is an amazing batsman, he paced his innings really well. He opens for the Indian team as well, he can give us great starts in tough situations, I am happy for him and the team would be hoping for good performances from him," Iyer said.
"I feel that 175 would have looked completely different on the board, we fell short off it, this was our second game here in Abu Dhabi and we have got great learnings, we will work on our weaknesses, we have a three-day break and gain our strength back," he added.
This was only DC's second defeat of the tournament in seven outings, including five impressive wins. The team, currently placed second in the points table, next face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday (October 14) in Dubai.
