Dubai: Delhi Capitals may have failed to clear their first hurdle in the IPL final on Tuesday night, but their young skipper Shreyas Iyer must have been a happy person at the performance graph of his men in this edition. The re-branded team, which made the play-offs after quite a long gap last year, raised their game to the next level this season to make their first-ever final – where they came up short against Mumbai Indians.
Iyer, the youngest IPL captain at 25 years, finished as fourth highest rungetter in the competition with 519 runs while his leadership earned accolades all around. Often branded as India’s future white ball captain, he seemed to have already started the planning for 2021 season – which is barely five months away now.
Looking back at the way the final panned out, Iyer said that his bowlers lost the plot in the powerplay – something which put them under pressure right from the start. “I feel in such big matches, you back your strength and in the last game, when we batted first, we really posted a good total, bowlers have been fantastic for us this season, it’s just that the fatigue that crept in maybe, bowlers just lost it in the powerplay, I personally don’t regret my decision to bat first after winning the toss, I thought it was a good decision of batting first as there was not much pressure,” he said the post-match press conference.
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“They (bowlers) have been outstanding, Rabada got the Purple Cap, he has been putting the gas throughout, Ashwin has a great mind and he knows the strategy, he comes in and he executes just the way teams want him to. As you see, we have been lacking in the starts in the majority of our games, that’s what we need to work on going forward, we have leaked a lot of runs in the powerplay – so we need to get tighter in that aspect as well, majority of the things will be same next season,” he added.
Asked about their Head Coach Ricky Ponting at the post-match presentation, Iyer said: “The amount of freedom he (Ponting) gives us is outstanding. The way he motivates players is simply amazing. His team meetings and motivational speeches it quite incredible,” Iyer told host broadcasters in the post-match presentation.
A Mumbai man himself, Iyer was proud of his team and said winning the trophy would have been better and he is already looking forward to the next year’s tournament. “The IPL always amazes you, it’s one of the toughest leagues to play. I’m overwhelmed to be part of it, and I’m really proud of my boys, the way they have played to reach the final, it’s not easy,” said Iyer.
“Winning the IPL would have been better, but we will see to it that we lift the trophy next year. I would like to thank our fans, and we’re thankful for all the support that has been showered on us throughout the season,” he said.