Who said what: IPL 2020, Match 23 – Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Capitals

Aided by a clinical performance from the bowlers and some effective late-overs hitting early on, the Delhi Capitals (DC) emerged victorious for the fifth time in this year’s IPL, beating the Rajasthan Royals by 46 runs. A 46-run knock from Shimron Hetmyer and brief cameos from Axar and Harshal Patel took the Capitals to 184.

DC then struck early in the chase, removing Buttler with a great catch from Shikhar Dhawan at square leg. Steven Smith, trying to up the ante, fell in the 9th over, and RR’s batting order suffered a dreadful collapse after that. They were reduced to 90/6 within the 14th over, following which it was all about batting the 20 overs for them. They ended up being bundled out for a score of 138 with 2 balls left, handing a comprehensive victory to DC.

Here are some quotes from the game:

Steven Smith, RR captain said, “We are not playing good enough over the 40 overs, and not executing when the pressure is coming on and you can’t win many games that way. The bowlers did a good job, and I don’t think the wicket was as good as it has been here, a bit stoppy tonight, and we gave away 10-15 extra runs. We have to remain positive, turn things around quickly.

“At the moment it doesn’t seem to be going our way. I’m not batting too well either. I did feel good tonight with the bat but didn’t get hold of one that I feel like I should have. Stokes hasn’t had a lot of practice, he gets out of quarantine tomorrow, so we’ll see if he plays the day after tomorrow.” 

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Shimron Hetmyer, who scored those 46 valuable runs to trigger a late-over surge in runs, said, “I was working a lot on it during practice. Dropped a few during the CSK game, so I went back and did a lot of work on my catching. It travels a lot here, so I backed myself and gave it my all while taking it.

When asked whether his hairstyle helps him in diving, he said with a chuckle, “It’s a possibility maybe! It felt good to hit a few properly, just doing good work in the nets, and glad that it paid off today. We’re not trying to think too far ahead, just taking it one game at a time.”

Shimron Hetmyer hit a quickfire 45 off 24

DC skipper Shreyas Iyer said, “I’m really happy with the way we came out in the second innings. We thought it was an under-par score but it was stopping on the wicket and the bowlers executed their plans really well. We were also going to bowl first with the dew factor, but thankfully it went in our favour.

Shreyas, upon being asked about DC’s campaign so far in this year’s IPL, said, “I am enjoying captaincy because the players make it really easy, especially the bowlers. Even the way the support staff is managing the team meetings is commendable. I think the mixture in our team is really good and we have worked really hard on this.

“The boys have shared their thoughts pre-tour and their strengths and weaknesses. I am happy with how we are progressing and hoping to maintain the momentum. We can’t take anything lightly and need to come with our plans, execute them well.”

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Ravichandran Ashwin, who was adjudged player of the match for his spell of 2/22 off his 4 overs, said, “One of the important things in this bowling attack is that most bowlers can bowl at any moment. It is sort of a role where you can put your hand up and be brave about it. Credit goes to the backroom staff. I am in a very good space mentally and physically and it really shows.

“(I am) Really enjoying myself in both those spaces. I just need to take it out to practice once the planning is done and then go out and express myself. I did use the carrom ball in the powerplay once or twice. It is just about how much you want to use it in the powerplay when you’re ahead of the game. I got a brilliant catch and getting that Jos (Buttler) wicket was important. But the ball was soaking wet after the powerplay and the sweat didn’t help either.”

Upon asked about the condition of his shoulder injury, Ashwin replied, “In a lot of positions, my body is taking over psychologically. I just don’t want to land awkwardly and put weight on it. But it is important that I look after myself and not stretch it.”