IPL 2020: Shreyas Iyer fined for slow over rate, Rabada joins Shami in Purple Cap race

Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer will pay a fine of ₹12 lakh for slow over-rate against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Published : Sep 30, 2020 09:07 IST

Ricky Ponting at a press conference after Delhi Capitals' first loss in IPL 2020, on Tuesday night. - BCCI/IPL

Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer has been fined ₹12 lakh for slow over-rate against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2020 fixture in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Though the side bowled well to keep David Warner and Jonny Bairstow quiet in the Powerplay, it lost the plot in the middle overs with Kane Williamson in the middle; eventually losing its first game of the season after victories against Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings.

Head coach Ricky Ponting believes the Sunrisers openers, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, played to the conditions despite struggling in the Powerplay. “I don’t think the conditions were too different. The dimensions of the ground are different. It is a bigger square boundary here in Abu Dhabi compared to Dubai but we were outplayed. A few of their top-order guys made big scores. At the end of the day, that was the difference in the game,” he told reporters after the loss to Sunrisers.

“Was it just one big over we didn’t get? Was it because we didn’t get enough in the Powerplay? We will sit back and analyse. At Delhi Capitals, we don’t sit back and blame anyone. We lost the game as a team tonight,” said Ponting, adding that the wicket looked good visually and perhaps, it became better in the second innings.

DC vs SRH | MATCH RECAP

“There was a bit of grass. It was nice and hard. I think Warner and Bairstow ran the twos exceptionally well and got boundaries when they needed to. The wicket may have been better in the second innings which is disappointing for us after having won the toss and deciding to bowl. We wanted to chase because we felt there could be a bit of dew. But their bowlers executed the yorkers better than us.”

Rabada on top

It’s still early days for all teams but speedster Kagiso Rabada is already leading the Purple Cap race with Kings XI quick Mohammed Shami. Both of them have seven scalps in three games.

“Rabada is just the ultimate competitor. He loves pitting himself against some of the best batsmen in the world. There are little things he works on. I wouldn’t say he is someone who needs to turn up and bowl eight overs of his long run-up training every day. He is a rhythm bowler and that’s the stuff we are working on with him,” said Ponting.