Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Shreyas Iyer hoped that his team won't let the heavy loss in qualifier 1 this Thursday (November 6) get to their head and will continue believing they can still clinch their maiden IPL trophy this year.
DC went down by a big margin of 57 runs to Mumbai Indians (MI) in Dubai, responding to opposition's massive 200/5 with just 143/8 in what could be a morale damaging result.
Either side of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (3/29) and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (65) in the second half, it was another collective failure from DC against the defending champions, who flexed their muscles through to the final.
"Very tough. I don't want to talk anything negative about the side, but going forward we have to make sure we come out with a solid mindset," said Iyer at the post-match presentation, as quoted by ANI.
"We were on top of the game especially in that phase when we got two wickets, and they were 110 for in 13 or 14 overs. That is when we should have capitalised more. We could have chased 170 on this wicket. It is part and parcel of the game. Every night can't be yours. We just talk about the opportunities we have."
"It is not easy to be in the bubble and follow the same routine every day. The practice we have put in, the hard work, it is really tremendous. Ashwin was brilliant. He is always there, offering something for the team. He plays with the batsmen's minds. Great to have his inputs as a captain."
"All the batsmen in their team are in great touch, especially when Hardik and Pollard come down the order, and their top-order batsmen have full freedom and are in great form. So it is not easy to control them," Iyer added.
Fielding three overseas fast bowlers in hope to contain the mighty MI batting line-up, DC were left helpless when Kagiso Rabada (0/42), Anrich Nortje (1/50) and Daniel Sams (0/44) were found short of answers against the likes of Suryakumar Yadav (51), Ishan Kishan (55*) and Hardik Pandya (37). Earlier, Quinton de Kock (40) too played a fine knock.
In the run-chase, Trent Boult (2/9) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/14) once again combined to break the back of DC's top-six, especially Bumrah who was at his mesmerising best on the night. Stoinis, as well as Akshar Patel (42), were the only ones to show some fight among DC batsmen, before they too were send packing by Bumrah.
DC will now face the winner of the eliminator on Friday (November 6) between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in qualifier 2 on Sunday (November 8), the winner of which will take on MI in the final coming Tuesday (November 10).
