No total impossible to chase down in T20 cricket, says Delhi’s Shreyas Iyer

MUMBAI: Shreyas Iyer, who slammed a 57-ball 96 to seal the deal for Delhi Daredevils against Gujarat Lions in Kanpur on Wednesday, believes no total is impossible to chase in T20 cricket.

Iyer single-handedly steered the Daredevils closer to victory. When he fell, Delhi required seven runs in the final over. It was left to Amit Mishra, who slammed two consecutive boundaries, to clinch the match with two wickets and two balls to spare.

BACK YOURSELF

Iyer, who registered his top T20 score, felt it is important to back yourself, especially in T20s. “You must back yourself all the time. In a format like T20s, you can chase any total. What I have realised playing this format that you can cover up later even if you have consumed a few dot balls early on. The mantra to succeed is to keep believing in yourself and keep backing yourself,” Iyer was quoted as saying by the IPLT20 website.

“We must believe that we can defend any total that we put up. We have seen that we chased 200plus scores twice. If one player does not perform, someone else steps up and does the job. As far as improvement is concerned, we can improve everyday. We must believe in each other and end the season on a good note,” he added.

Iyer’s plan was to bat through the Powerplay overs after Delhi lost two quick wickets.

“This season we have been losing wickets early and for this particular match I had decided I was going to bat through the Powerplay overs. I was not looking at my score at all. When we started losing more wickets, I had no other option but to stay till the end.”