'Pre-match chat was about really taking it to them' - Philip Salt opens up on his verbal duel with Mohammed Siraj

England batter Phil Salt played a scintillating knock of 87 off 45 balls in IPL 2023 as he guided Delhi Capitals to a seven-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, May 06, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After opting to bat first, RCB posted a good total of 181/4 in the first innings on the back of half-centuries from Virat Kohli (55 off 46) and Mahipal Lomror (54* off 29).

In reply, Salt came out all guns blazing as he took on RCB’s pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj early on his innings and started in emphatic fashion. Salt even had an altercation with Siraj during the powerplay, who seemed frustrated being taken to the cleaners by the DC opener. Talking about the heated battle after the game, the 26-year-old said that the team had planned to give it back to RCB after their win in the last fixture between the two teams in Bengaluru.

“I am very satisfied with the knock. Obviously, there was a little bit of a needle. Their boys were up for the last game when we were in Bangalore. So a lot of the pre-match chat was about really taking it to them, which I felt that we did really well. There were a few words and a bit of needle, but most blokes were up for it, certainly myself,” Salt was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Salt further talked about taking on Siraj during the powerplay and said that targeting him early on sent a sense of calm in DC’s dugout, which helped other batters to come out and express themselves right from the get-go.

If you take on a side’s best bowler, you send a message of calmness in the dugout: Philip Salt

“It was. I feel like if you take on a side’s best bowler a lot of the times and you win that particular battle, whether it’s the first over or any over that he bowls, the message that it sends back into the dugout is one of calm. When that happens, and you do it successfully, you see guys come out the way Mitch [Mitchell Marsh] did. Hit his second ball for six. You see Rilee [Rossouw] come out and bat like he’d already faced 30 balls. A sort of a method behind it,” Salt added.

Notably, Siraj, who has been exceptional in the powerplay with 15 wickets to his name, was hammered for 28 runs in two overs as Delhi openers captain David Warner and Salt added 60 runs for the first wicket in 31 balls. Following their win, Delhi maintained their ninth position on the points table with four wins from 10 games. They will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, May 10, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.