When 23-year-old Shreyas Iyer was given the captaincy of Delhi Daredevils, after Gautam Gambhir decided to step down following a string of defeats, many questions were raised about whether he was the right choice and how it would affect his form.
But Iyer answered all doubts with the bat in a manner that was, to use Mumbai cricket parlance, khadoos.
In his first match as captain, Iyer powered his bottom-placed team to the highest score of the season – 219/4 – with an unbeaten 93 off 40. This was the highest score by anyone on captaincy debut. This was the first time a captain and Delhi Daredevils player had hit 10 sixes in an IPL match. This was a statement of intent. And this was Delhi’s only second win this season.
Iyer’s blitzkrieg assault at the death – 76 runs off the last four, 29 in the last – made those watching wished he had a few more balls to reach the three-figure mark. But that didn’t matter, not for him. What matters was that he had launched his struggling team to a crucial 55-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders and kept them alive in the competition. This was Daredevils’ biggest win against KKR.
The youngster was fearless with the bat – outrageous shots, confident hitting, exploiting the small boundaries of Kotla. He looked like he was in a different zone, one we haven’t seen him play in for a long, long time, perhaps since his debut season when he won the Emerging Player of the Year award. Pressure clearly got the best out of him.
A hard reboot for Delhi
The entire Delhi Daredevils unit must have been under tremendous pressure on Friday. A new captain, a new opening pair as Gambhir was left out of the playing XI, and a host of expectations from the home crowd. Iyer lost his first toss and was put in to bat, but later admitted that it was a good toss to lose because he would have chosen to bowl first too.
But once the pair of Shaw and Colin Munro (who replaced Dan Christian) started off, it was a run fest. They shared a stand stand of 59 before KKR got the first breakthrough. But it would only add to their misery.
There were questions over who would come in at No 3. Glenn Maxwell like the last match, or the ballistic Rishabh Pant perhaps. But the captain strode out to take guard with his fellow Mumbai batsman. And two put together thrilling display of power-packed and precisely-placed shots.
Iyer was sedate to begin with his 32 coming off 22 balls with Shaw taking up the bulk of scoring. But one the teen’s stumps were knocked over by Piyush Chawla, Iyer switched on a different gear with his next 61 runs coming in just 18 balls.
Shaw shows what he is capable of
But before the Iyer blast, there was the Shaw blitz. At 18 years and 169 days, he became the joint youngest to score a fifty in IPL (with Sanju Samson.) His 44-ball 62, with seven fours and two sixes, in only his second match, was a sign of what he is capable of. Kumar Sangakarra went on to call him the best opener he is seen this season.
That the Under-19 captain can swing the willow is a known fact; but the assurance in some of his shots, the clever placement, the making of room and the thwack of the MRF-labeled willow was a sight Indian cricket fans will hope they see for many more years to come. There are many chinks yet to be ironed for him, but if he can carry on at this level as a batsman, he could join the long list of illustrious U-19 alumni.
Iyer impresses as captain too
Iyer has been in good knick this season, with three consecutive half-centuries. Even in the last match against Kings XI Punjab, the one that triggered Gambhir’s resignation, he almost managed to take the team home, falling on the last ball.
His captaincy while fielding was also positive. He gave Maxwell the new ball, despite Liam Plunkett doing well the last time because Chris Lynn is not a good player of spin. But he kept his pacers at it, with the entire top-order bar Lynn falling to good short pitched bowling. He took a catch and also effected a crucial run-out when Shubman Gill and Andre Russell were putting on a dangerous partnership, making it an all-round impressive day for him.
When the new captain was announced, many felt that Pant should have been picked due to his past experience on the domestic circuit. But perhaps it was his own reluctance to lead or his batting form that stopped that.
Meanwhile, Iyer has played for Delhi from the start of his IPL career. From his debut season in 2015, when he won the Emerging Player Award, to now, he has been a reliable batsman, if not always a match-winning one. He was also one of only three players to be retained by DD ahead of the 2018 auction.
On Friday, as he crossed the 100-run mark in IPL, he showed why Delhi (and Mumbai, India A and India) put so much stock in his work. He is a talented batsman, an astute cricketer and on his day, a game changer.
With seven games to go, and each a must-win, Delhi will look at this performance to back themselves for a playoff spot. After all, head coach Ricky Ponting has done the same before, winning the title with Mumbai Indians in 2015 after stepping down midway.
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