Defeat Against Chennai Super Kings A Reality Check, Says Delhi Capitals Captain Shreyas Iyer

Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Shreyas Iyer stated that the defeat to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Wednesday was reality check for them. The Delhi-based franchise lost to CSK by 80 runs, which is their biggest defeat in this edition of the IPL. Their final score of 99 all out was also the lowest score DC has registered in IPL 2019.

Speaking after the match, Shreyas Iyer said, "I think it's a good reality check for us, because the way we started we definitely should have converted, at least got closer to the target, but it was really disappointing, the way we progressed after that start.

"We lost wickets in succession and we didn't play that smart. All these small points definitely affected the game, and we need to assess where we went wrong and really come back strong in the next game."

CSK started the game by scoring 27 runs in six overs, losing Shane Watson along the way for a duck. Thereafter, Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina formed an 83-run partnership. After the dismissal of du Plessis and Raina in the 13th and 14th over, captain MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja scored 43 runs in 3.4 overs.

Dhoni ended the innings by smashing two sixes in the last two balls of the final over take CSK's score to 179. Dhoni himself finished with figures of 44 runs off 22 balls.

On Dhoni's performance, Shreyas Iyer stated, "He's a very experienced player; you know that he can change the match from Ball 1. If he takes time and stays till the last over, definitely he can put a nice total on the board. Obviously, bowlers feel pressure when he is batting in front."

Things went downhill for Delhi Capitals almost from the beginning and then Ravindra Jadeja and Imran Tahir cleaned up the middle and lower order.

With this win, Chennai Super Kings went back to the top of the IPL points table, with 18 points, ensuring their place in the Top 2.

Delhi Capitals play their next match against Rajasthan Royals on May 4 in Delhi, while the Chennai Super Kings face off against Kings XI Punjab on May 5 in Mohali.