Delhi finished with 18 points from their 14 Indian T20 League matches this season, but will still need to play in the Eliminator because of a lesser net run-rate than table-toppers Mumbai and 2nd-placed Chennai. The team from the capital city will now be facing 4th-placed Hyderabad at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Wednesday, and their skipper Shreyas Iyer believes that “it is going to be an amazing challenge against the team.”
AFP / Sajjad Hussain
Speaking before the big match on Wednesday, Shreyas summarized his team’s performance this season, and looked forward to the Eliminator. He said, “It has been a great tournament for us so far. We have managed to win nine matches in total and have only lost five matches which have also been close encounters. Majority of the wins have also been convincing from the team, and I am really happy with the way the team has stepped up to the occasion. However, that is all in the past, and we are now really looking forward to the Eliminator. It is going to be an amazing challenge against Hyderabad. They have an incredible team, and at no point will it be easy for us. The team is pumped up, and is looking forward to the match tomorrow."
Asked if it is unfair that even with nine wins and 18 points on the board, they have to play SRH who only managed to accumulate 12 points from their 14 matches, Shreyas said that he agrees that the tournament can sometimes be unfair to teams finishing in the top spots but said he doesn’t want to look at it from this perspective. “I think we shouldn’t think about that. It is how the tournament is. This is a funny tournament, any team can beat anyone and we have seen that in the past editions where the team finishing on top of the table has struggled to life the trophy eventually. But even before the start of the tournament, we wouldn’t have thought that a team finishing with only 12 points will make it to the playoffs, but here we are. So instead you have to take all the factors in your stride, and play your best cricket on the day to come out on top,” said the 24-year-old.
"We have to take the confidence from our win against them in Hyderabad. They also beat us in Delhi, so both the teams are fairly confident, and it is going to be a tough match. However, they are also missing some of their players, and we are without Kagiso now, so it is going to be a difficult task as well, but a well-matched encounter. They have a very good past in such situations but we are also looking forward to creating history and having a great future,” added Iyer.
Asked on what advice he has given to his players, Shreyas said that focusing on the basics is key to their good form this season and he would want his team to continue doing that.
"I have just been saying since we have made it to the playoffs, that we don’t have to change much, we have to play the way we have been playing. We need to do the small things right, keep everything simple and stick to our basics, because that is what has helped us in coming this far. I believe the more you complicate things, the more difficult it is going to get for you, so that is what I tell myself and the team, to keep things simple, and believe that everything will fall into place,” said the Delhi Capitals’ skipper who has scored 442 runs this season.
"We know that we have made history, we have qualified for the playoffs after seven years. It doesn’t mean that we have to change anything or start something new. We have to believe in ourselves and in our ability to win the match and secure our place in the next match,” signed off Iyer.
The two teams defeated each other in their respective away matches this season as it was Hyderabad who won the first match in Delhi by 5 wickets. But Delhi made a comeback in the away leg as they took 8 wickets for just 15 runs to restrict their opponent to 116 all out and win the match by 39 runs.
The two teams have previously faced each other on 14 occasions, with Hyderabad having won 9 matches while Delhi only have five wins.
