Except Shikhar Dhawan (106*), none of the Delhi Capitals’ batsman could manage even 15 runs resulting in the table-topper suffered a 5-wicket loss to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the 38th game of the ongoing IPL 2020 and DC captain Shreyas Iyer said it was a wake-up call for the franchise on Tuesday (October 20).
DC managed to post 164/5 on the board on the back of Dhawan’s brilliant century but he was not supported by anyone in the match and Iyer urged his batsmen to take “more responsibility” to come out all guns blazing after the surprising loss to KXIP in Dubai since the IPL 2020 enters its final leg in the UAE.
Iyer said at the post-match virtual press conference: “This is like a wake-up call for us. Going forward we are going to face tough situations and tougher teams.”
He continued, “We have played amazing cricket in the past but we have to leave that in the past. We have to come out all guns blazing, play with freedom and take more responsibility. We need one match to qualify and keeping that in mind, we will take one match at a time.”
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Hailing Dhawan for his knock, he added, “I am really happy for Shikhar Dhawan for the way he is going. He is creating an amazing platform for us as batsmen. We should be knowing our roles pretty well.”
However, the DC has backed his batsmen by saying they are in a good frame of mind and it was just about clarity of mind and planning and few matches can go against, but he didn't blame the Dubai track.
He explained, “Other than that, I feel all the batsmen are in really good frame of mind and few matches can go wrong here and there as fatigue creeps in. Keeping that aside we need to focus on our strengths.
The wicket played same in both innings. The way Shikhar is batting, his mindset has been amazing, it has been great throughout and he needs that quick start that keeps him going. The way he planned was amazing and we just need these sorts of innings from him every day. So, little bit of partnership in Power-Play from our openers (Prithvi Shaw) and we will get a big one.”
However, Iyer has lamented that his Mumbai teammate Tushar Deshpande leaked a quite few runs in the fifth over that really changed the momentum of the game in favour of KXIP.
He added, “The fifth over of the Power-Play definitely changed the momentum towards them but other than that we really played hard and took the game to the last run. We missed some run-outs and catches but that's part and parcel of the game. We will do hardwork at our training in next few days."
Iyer signed off by saying, “Deshpande is a confident lad and does his homework pretty well. He has been hit by Chris Gayle, who is a world-class batsman and it's a great learning experience for him. He will go back and analyze his mistakes and come back stronger. I believe in him.”
(With PTI Inputs)
