IPL 2020: KXIP defeat a ‘wake-up call’ for us, says Iyer

New Delhi: Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer said the defeat against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) is a ‘wake-up call’ for the team and urged his team’s batsmen, with the exception of an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, to take “more responsibility”.

KXIP defeated Delhi Capitals by five wickets here at the Dubai International Stadium. Opener Dhawan continued to be in great form and his sequence of scores now read 69 not out, 57, 101 not out, and 106 not out, the last one coming in a losing cause. Punjab chased down the target of 165 with six balls to spare.

“This is like a wake-up call for us. Going forward we are going to face tough situations and tougher teams. We have played amazing cricket in the past but we have to leave that in the past,” Iyer said at the post-match virtual press conference.

Post match catch-ups ✌️#KXIPvDC #Dream11IPL #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/qlQStPVhKL

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) October 20, 2020

“We had a really great start in the tournament and in between it is important to get a loss because you learn a lot from it. I think this is like a wake up for us because going forward, we are going to face tough situations and tougher teams,” Iyer said in the post-match press conference.

“We know that we have played amazing cricket in the past but we have to leave that in the past and going forward, I feel that we have to come with all guns blazing and play with freedom and express ourselves more,” he added.

'The Big Show' interviews Nicky P@Gmaxi_32 & @nicholas_47 see the funny side of mix-ups in the middle but are glad they ended up on the winning side. Also, they have a special message for their loving fans.

WATCH 📹📹https://t.co/8iw4uzaVUC #Dream11IPL #KXIP pic.twitter.com/mNyNnOkJCS

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 21, 2020

With this win, KXIP have gone to the fifth position in the points table with eight points from 10 matches while Delhi Capitals are still at the top of the table with 14 points from 10 games.

Delhi Capitals managed to put a respectable total on the board with the help of Shikhar Dhawan’s ton. Also, the batsman became the first player to register two consecutive centuries in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Reflecting on the team’s batting performance and praising Dhawan’s unbeaten knock of 106 runs, Iyer said: “I am really happy for Shikhar with the way he is going, really creating an amazing platform for us as batsmen. We should know our roles pretty well and it is just one game, other than that I feel all the batsmen are in a really good frame of mind. Few matches can go here and there, it is a long tournament.”