Kolkata: For Shreyas Iyer, an unbeaten innings of 47 runs in Delhi Capitals’ thumping eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 on Wednesday night meant a lot. The current year had been a tumultous one for him, which saw the middle order batsman lose his captaincy of Delhi Capitals courtesy a serious shoulder injury while the number four spot in the Indian white ball squad for T20 World Cup - which was there for the taking - eluded him by a whisker.
The 26-year-old Mumbaikar, who came in at No.3 at the early fall of Prithi Shaw, provided that steadying factor in Delhi innings even though they were chasing a modest target with a fluent unbeaten 47 off 41 deliveries - which significantly had only two boundaries and sixes each.
There were no signs of any rustiness and it must have pleased Iyer, who is among the stand-byes for the World T20, as he looked battle-ready. “It was a great feeling to be out there. It was like a story unfolding the way I wanted it to. It really felt special because I expected myself to come back into the team and perform. I am really happy with my performance,” Iyer said.
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The articulate batsman, who had landed in Dubai a week earlier than his teammates to start work on strengthening exercises, told the Capitals media team that he looked to back his instincts in the middle, “I wanted to be positive when I went into bat and I wanted to back my instincts. I looked to bat till the end and finish the game and that’s what happened. I gave myself some time in the middle and after a while, I was able to pick up the lengths of the delivery.’’
How did it feel that Delhi wasted no time in regaining the momentum to start with a win? “It’s the best feeling in the world. When we came to Dubai, we were on top of the table and now starting off with a bang in this game, I feel that the spirits are high in the team. We need to continue with the same momentum and let’s hope that we have a blast of a season.”
Delhi Capitals will next take on the Rajasthan Royals in their next match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 25 (Saturday).
