MOHALI: Left speechless after Delhi Capitals’ collapse, skipper Shreyas Iyer said his team simply “panicked” and “miscalculated” the target in its 14-run loss to Kings XI Punjab in an IPL fixture here.
Delhi were going strong at 144 for 3 in the 17th over, chasing 167 but Sam Curran’s hat-trick saw the visitors being bowled out for 152 in 19.2 overs.
“I am really speechless. It is a crucial match and losing such matches is not going to benefit us,” Iyer said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Really disappointing. With the way we were going, we came to run-a-ball and to lose from there. We didn’t play smart cricket and Punjab outplayed us in all the departments.
“We miscalculated the target. I think It was just a panic in between. They got two wickets in succession, (Chris) Morris and (Rishabh) Pant and there we lost the match. Our batsmen did not taking initiative to win the game,” the skipper said.
In their earlier match, Delhi Capitals had won the game in a Super over despite looking good at one stage to overhaul the target against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Iyer said his team needs to learn from their mistakes.
“I couldn’t figure it out what happened today. It happened in the previous match as well, we were going really good and suddenly ball-to-ball…. these are key factors we have to work on,” he said.
“Our batting has been really dominant right from the start but we need to learn from this small things.”
Iyer was also critical of their bowling.
“Also we didn’t bowl that great to be honest, we got a bad start but we controlled in between and that is something we need to take forward,” the Delhi skipper said.
“Looking at the quality we have, I think we shouldn’t be losing such matches.”
Asked about Sandeep Lamichhane, who took two for 27, Iyer said: “Sandeep is a confident lad, he has been playing all over the world, he has been bowling invariably really well. So I am really confident as a captain to pass on the ball to him at any time.
“The way he varies the pace and he spins the ball even when the wicket is really flat. I have great confidence on him and definitely he will do well in the tournament.”
Iyer said Delhi will have enough time to work on their shortcoming since it happened early in the tournament.
“In a way, it is good that it happened at the start of the tournament, there will lot of learning out of this and we will look to comeback strong,” he said.
“I feel these things happen in the game, it is uncontrollable. We just have to apply ourself in between and just be smart, everyone has got a good mindset.
“It is not that we are weak. We have played lot of cricket and have good experience also. We just have to smart and be calculative in taking risks.”
A delighted KXIP skipper Ravichandran Ashwin said that they were waiting for Rishabh Pant to make a mistake and cash in from thereon.
“Not many times, you defend. When Rishabh hit the six, we just needed to hang in there. Credit to Shami and Curran. We were probably 25 runs short. We backed ourselves to defend with three spinners,” he said. (AGENCIES)
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SPO-IPL-CURRAN
I didn’t really know about the hat-trick, says Curran
MOHALI, Apr 2:
The youngest to notch up an IPL hat-trick, England and Kings XI Punjab all-rounder Sam Curran said he had “absolutely no idea” that he had taken one during the game against Delhi Capitals here.
The left-arm medium pacer’s hat-trick, which was the first of this edition of the IPL, helped Kings XI Punjab script an exciting 14-run win over Delhi Capitals on Monday night.
The 20-year-old from Northampton, KXIP’s costliest buy this year with a price tag of Rs 7.20 crore, surpassed Rohit Sharma in becoming the youngest to take an IPL hat-trick. Sharma had achieved the feat as a 22-year-old for Deccan Chargers against Mumbai Indians in 2009.
Curran was adjudged the player of the match for snapping four for 11 as Delhi Capitals collapsed from 144/3 to 152 all-out while chasing a target of 167.
“I didn’t really know (about the hat-trick),” said Curran.
“When we won the game, one of the players came up to me and said ‘you’ve got a hat-trick’. I had absolutely no idea I had taken one,” he elaborated.
Son of former Zimbabwe all-rounder the late Kevin Curran and younger brother of another England international player Tom Curran, cricket is indeed a family affair for young sensation.
On Tuesday, he was drafted into the match when the in-form Chris Gayle was ruled out due to a back injury.
Curran filled in the slot quite well, making a quick-fire 10-ball 20 in the opening position. He struck three fours and a six in his short but exciting stay at the crease.
Curran’s hat-trick started in the 18th over when he got rid of Harshal Patel off the last ball of the over.
He then dismissed Kagiso Rabada and Sandeep Lamichhane off successive deliveries at the start of the 20th over.
“My main focus was obviously that last ball when Rabada came and I knew his strengths and where I could bowl, so I was always aiming for his stumps and his toes,” Curran said.
The visitors needed just 23 runs from 21 balls with seven wickets in hand, but Curran turned the match on its head.
“Ash (R Ashwin) told me what to do. Ryan Harris was standing at the third man region. Against the local batters, I had to ask our players, ‘Where does he hit?’. Shami got two amazing overs in the end which helped,” he said.
Curran said he needs to work hard on his batting.
“I have worked a lot on my batting over the last few months. I like to work hard on my batting, bowling and fielding. I have opened in school cricket, but think this was the first time in professional cricket. Hopefully, we keep winning games,” he said.
Considered a prodigal talent, Curran has played nine Tests for England, averaging a decent 32 with the bat and with 15 wickets in his kitty.
He made his first-class debut at 17 for Surrey, making him the second youngest in history after Tony Lock.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) declared him as one of the eight players to watch out for in its 2018 annual awards. (AGENCIES)
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