IPL 10, Match 50, Who Said What – Gujarat Lions v Delhi Daredevils

When the Delhi Daredevils took on the Gujarat Lions at Kanpur in the match 50 of the season, it was nothing but pride at stake for both sides. Both the teams were out of contention for the playoffs and hence it was a dead rubber on the cards. The result was not going to have an impact on the table standings but would have made the winning side feel better anyway in the disappointing season.

Coming into the game, it was the Delhi Daredevils that won the toss and opted to field first. The Lions had a very poor start to their innings as they lost the key wickets of Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina cheaply. It was some counter attack from Ishan Kishan that bailed them out of trouble in the powerplay. Kishan hit 34 off 25 balls with 5 fours and a six before getting dismissed.

In the middle order, the Lions found support from Aaron Finch and Dinesh Karthik. Both batsmen added a crucial 92-run stand for the 4th wicket to set things right for the Lions. Karthik’s 40 was ably guided by Finch’s 69 that came off only 39 balls. Their efforts helped Gujarat post 195/5 in their stipulated 20 overs. In the run chase, there was nothing much to talk about. It was one man who batted almost through the innings.

Shreyas Iyer missed out on a century and was dismissed on 96 off 57 balls with 15 fours and 2 sixes. He was dismissed in the final over but had done his job. Iyer’s knock was helped by Karun Nair and Pat Cummins’ cameos. They managed to eke out a narrow 2 wicket win on the day.

The disappointed Gujarat Lions skipper Suresh Raina commended the way Shreyas Iyer played for the Delhi Daredevils. He noted that the match summed up their season. They have come very close to victories but have missed out on crucial wins due to last moment momentum shifts.

Suresh Raina said:  I think we tried everything but unfortunately we ended up on the losing side. Shreays Iyer batted really well. After getting so many wickets up front, we did not capitalize and ended up giving so many boundaries. We tried our best. Boys gave whatever they had. We have been losing close games, that is so disappointing. Like you have mentioned a great game of cricket. Wicket was playing well later on. We gave them so many loose balls, after getting wickets, probably that cost us the game.

Delhi Daredevils skipper Zaheer Khan was mighty pleased with the way his players performed in the match. He noted that the team worked really hard to get the results in the match. Also, he had his word of praise for his young team and a special mention for Shreyas Iyer. He hopes the team only gets better and finish the season on a high.

Zaheer Khan said: 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.

Delhi’s middle order batsman Shreyas Iyer was awarded the Man of the Match for his superlative knock of 96 on the day. On receiving the award, he noted that the century does not really matter as long as the team is winning. He remarked that he is very content with his own performance on the night and said hitting more boundaries than sixes was an achievement for him.

Shreyas Iyer said: It would have been more happy 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 though. We had lost early wickets, I’ll keep knocking for 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.