Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer said that it is a difficult task to defend at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium despite his team posting a mammoth 228/4 in 20 overs.
Defending the total, Delhi had Kolkata reeling at 122 for the loss of six wickets. However, Eoin Morgan played a blinder of an innings (18-ball 44) and threatened to take the game away from Delhi.
DC vs KKR IPL 2020 | Highlights
But, a good bowling show in the last couple of overs helped Delhi eke out an 18-run win and take pole position in the points table.
"It is really difficult to defend here. It has been such an amazing tournament, especially in Sharjah. It is always a thrill to play at this ground, the last time I played here was in the under-19s," Iyer said at the post-match presentation.
Asked to bat first, Iyer hit an unbeaten 38-ball 88 and slammed six sixes and seven boundaries, en route to his match-winning knock.
"Winning the match was the icing on the cake. It was really necessary for me to take time at the start which I did in the earlier games as well. It was the right time for me to take on the bowlers and then rotate strike as well after that.
"Luckily it worked out for me. I know the hard work and the smart work I have put in through my gym sessions, so I wouldn't say I am a very gifted player," he said.
Losing captain Dinesh Karthik took positive of the fact that his batsmen took the game deep with Morgan and Rahul Tripathi injecting life in the run chase.
"he way the boys batted is something I am really proud of, we kept fighting till the end which is the nature of our team. Really happy with the effort we put in today. Maybe in between 10-13 overs we didn't get many boundaries, we lost a couple of wickets as well which sets you back in such run chases. To be honest, couple more sixes and we would have crossed the line, we wouldn't be talking about the lengths," Karthik said.
The KKR skipper backed his bowlers despite Delhi posting a massive total.
"I thought it was a hard wicket to bowl on and the bowlers did a fabulous job, maybe 10 runs too many but its okay," he said.
Karthik further added that he and the management 'trust' in Andre Russell's batting skills despite the batsman's poor outings.
"We trust him (Russell) and believe he is the best in the business, we want to give him enough time to create an impact on the game and that's something we want to encourage."
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