Shreyas says was ready for Mavi
NEW DELHI: Had Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s suggestion to add two extra runs to sixes hit out of the stadium been taken seriously, new Delhi Daredevils skipper Shreyas Iyer would have got his first Indian Premier League (IPL) century, in the 55-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.
The 23-year-old’s 40-ball 93 not out blew KKR away. Many of his 10 sixes were pure timing, soaring into the night at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground as he helped lift his team from the bottom of the points table, at least temporarily.
What a difference 48 hours can make! The Mumbai batsman, marked out for great things even as a boy and delivering on the promise at domestic and IPL level in the last few seasons, had searched for words soon after being named skipper after Gautam Gambhir quit on Thursday.
His Man-of-the-match performance sealed a perfect captaincy debut. However, U-19 World Cup pacer, Shivam Mavi had a nightmare after being handed the last over. Iyer scored 28 of the 29 runs he conceded, hitting 6, 6, 6, 4 and 6. It atoned for the previous game, when he hit 12 in the final over chasing 17, to see his team fall four short against Kings XI Punjab.
Daredevils’ 219/4, the highest score of IPL 2018 on a pitch that didn’t help spinners and dew didn’t appear to make it easier for KKR as they had hoped when Dinesh Karthik elected to bowl.
NO INDIVIDUAL GLORY
“I don’t think there was much difference in how we played (earlier), it’s just that we got a good start in the first powerplay. Everyone was aware of their roles and contributed really well. It was a team effort in all, not an individual game,” Iyer said at the media interaction.
Iyer’s ability to pick length early and play shots has marked the prolific scorer as a future India star and he was initially cautious before hammering the bowling. Mavi felt the impact.
“I didn’t play him before so it was fairly new as well,” Iyer said. “I knew he was going to try yorkers, so I was ready for half-volleys and prepared to hit them straight. Luckily I could execute, I was timing the ball really well.”
TWO REPRIMANDED
Shivam Mavi and Avesh Khan, playing for Kolkata Kinght Riders and Delhi Daredevils respectively, were reprimanded for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. They were issued reprimands for two separate incidents during the match between KKR and DD. “Both admitted to the Level 1 offence,” ICC said.
v KKR in Delhi, 2018 v KXIP in Mohali, 2013 v GL in Pune, 2016 v CSK in Chennai, 2008 v DD in Delhi, 2010