In the previous encounter against Gujarat Lions, it was the combined effort from Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson that helped Delhi chase down a win and today, it was Shreyas Iyer’s innings of 96 plus the two balls cameo of Amit Mishra, that haunted Gujarat Lions again, which resulted in the home side losing another game.
It was a special effort from Shreyas Iyer that helped Delhi eclipse a big total of 196 as for the major part when Delhi was batting, the momentum was in Gujarat’s side as their bowlers were shining brightly and were able to keep a check on Delhi batsman but as soon the game was heading towards the closure, Shreyas Iyer took the charge and immediately changed his batting gear to put the team behind the chase.
He was dismissed in the last over with team seven runs off the target and that was the time when an experience Amit Mishra came into play as he anticipated Thampi quite well and scored back two boundaries off him to win the game for his team.
With this win, Delhi has secured a spot above of Gujarat Lions on the points table with five wins in seven games.
Here is what Delhi Daredevils skipper Zaheer Khan said after the win –
We had so many close games. While we were fielding. we are out of the tournament. Shreyas was outstanding. You have to take these things in stride and work harder. We have 2 more games. We want to win both the games and finish off on a high. It’s not one thing that doesn’t go right. IPL is such a hectic tournament. You can’t lose the momentum. We have to think hard.
Here is what Shreyas Iyer, the Man of Match, said after the game –
Shreyas Iyer, Man of the Match: It would have been happier if I had finished off the game. Nevertheless, a great knock. I wasn’t thinking about my 100. I just wanted to get my team through. We had lost early wickets, I thought I’ll keep knocking singles and doubles. It worked out. 100 doesn’t really matter. Winning the match for the team is more important. At the start of the innings, I was just trying to time the ball. I was pushing them in the gap and the outfield was really quick. Getting boundaries more than sixes is an achievement too. Two more matches left, I will see to it that I get two more man of the match awards.