Harpal Singh Bedi/ New Delhi
Delhi Capitals Shreyas Iyer on Saturday exuded confidence that his team will make it to the Play-off of this edition of the IPL.
Talking to media persons on the eve of the crucial match against Royal Challengers Banglore to be played 2019 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here on Sunday afternoon, Iyer said that his team is more focused than ever to complete the job of making it to the play-offs which he says is “only half-done so far”.
“The job is only half-done so far. Technically, I think we need to win at least one more match out of the remaining three, but our aim will be to win at least two matches to make sure we are securing the spot. That is the benchmark that we have set for ourselves.” He said adding “we are hoping for a victory tomorrow as well.”
About match being played in the afternoon ,he said , “I think we have an advantage because we have been practicing here in the afternoon, and we have been doing that for the night games as well. We have a good sense of how this pitch will play, and we have a fair idea about the conditions.
“The next two home matches are in the afternoon for us and our three remaining matches will have similar pitches I think as we play in Chennai, which also is a similar track, so it is an advantage, and we are well prepared to perform in such conditions.”
To a query whether Moeen Ali’s departure will impact RCB, and if Delhi Capitals have an advantage as their foreign players are available throughout the tournament, he replied . “We are not thinking much about the opposition that we play. We need to be confident in our abilities, and our strength is that we are a young team with some experienced players also around the group. I feel it is an advantage for us that some foreign players are going away, especially the ones who have been performing well for our oppositions like Moeen Ali,”
Asked on whether it is a do-or-die match for the Bangalore-based side and if the Capitals will be under more pressure to perform as they are playing at home, Shreyas said, “Yes, definitely. We have been in a similar situation before so we know that it will be a do-or-die match for them. Whereas, for us, every match is a do-or-die situation, we play as underdogs. No one expected us to come this far in just one and a half seasons, but Ricky always says that whenever we step out on the field, we go in as underdogs. That is something that motivates the boys to do well, and we are going to keep focusing on doing well, regardless if it is at home or away.”
The two teams have faced each other on 23 previous occasions which has seen RCB register a whopping 15 victories while Delhi has managed only 7, while one match has ended in a No Result.