KOLKATA: Chasing down a target like 215 was always going to be tough and Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer accepted that Delhi Capitals set the tone with their brilliant opening stand of 93 runs.
“They (DC) got off to a very good start right from the first over. Prithvi (Shaw) really took on the bowlers and was attacking even the good deliveries. To be honest we were a bit clueless about what to do at that point,” the skipper said after the side’s second loss in this IPL.
He also stated that they didn’t expect the wicket to behave so well. “I had to bring in spin early as Prithvi is someone who doesn’t go very big on the spinners,” Shreyas said.
However, the team did pull things back a bit in the middle overs before Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel collected 39 runs in the last two overs. Although the skipper did not think the side’s death bowling was a concern, he felt the area needed improvement. “It’s definitely something we need to work on. Even in practice we have to see to it that we execute our yorkers right,” Shreyas said.
Man-of-the-match, DC spinner Kuldeep Yadav stated he gained maximum satisfaction from getting Shreyas out. “Shreyas was batting well and getting his wicket was very important for me. He was the main batsman in the team,” the erstwhile Knight stated. Talking about his own bowling that’s paying dividends this time, Kuldeep said “I am not trying too much. I am just focussing on my rhythm ever since I came back into the Indian team.”
