When Delhi Daredevils opener, Shreyas Iyer lost his opening partner in the third ball of the match there was a situation where he could have panicked and crumbled under the pressure primarily because he was playing this match against his home team.
But the youngster kept his nerve intact and played fearlessly against the Mumbai Indians. The presence of Delhi’s captain JP Duminy also helped his cause. Together they not only toyed with the Mumbai bowling, but also took their team to a very respectable position.
Chasing a 191-run target, a team needs special effort, but Mumbai couldn’t able to produce one, losing wickets at regular intervals during their chase. But what was special about Thursday’s match at the Feroz Shah Kotla was the emergence of another Indian star in the making.
The most striking thing about Iyer was the way he translated his excitement into a match-winning knock. Not for a moment, he was out of sorts, with strict instruction from Duminy to back himself and play his natural game right from the start.
A lot of credit goes to Duminy for instilling the self-belief in Iyer. It also showed in Duminy’s prowess of holding the innings together. The South African was unbeaten till the end and motivated the rest of his teammates to take some sharp catches in the outfield.
With the ball, it was again Imran Tahir, who showed why he is one of the lead spinners in world cricket today. According to Iyer, it’s tough to get hold of this South African leg-spinner after he gets a wicket for his team.
Meanwhile, it feels bad to see Rohit Sharma mostly on the losing side. He is a champion cricket of international repute and as the leader of the side, he is doing his bit in every match to secure win for his team.
But somewhere down the line, they are losing the plot in most of the occasion. With only one win from six matches, this Mumbai team really needs a series of miraculous performances from here to register a place in the IPL play-offs.
And, as far as the Daredevils are concerned, they are back on track after ending their losing streak of nine consecutive home matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
