Handed the responsibility of leading Delhi Daredevils midway into IPL-11, new captain Shreyas Iyer certainly did not disappoint.
Replacing Gautam Gambhir as skipper, the young Mumbai batsman led from the front, smashing a brilliant 93 from 40 balls to propel Delhi to a massive 219 for four in their 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders in Delhi on Friday night.
-Scorecard
At one stage, Delhi looked good for a total of around the 175-run mark before Iyer's late assault turned things around for the hosts and they amassed 76 runs from the last four overs, scoring at nearly 20 per over to take the match away from KKR.
Iyer first targetted young fast bowler Shivam Mavi for back-to-back sixes, in the 17th over.
In the next, batting on 58 from 31 balls, he was dropped by Nitish Rana at long-on, the fielder ended up deflecting the ball over the ropes to give the Delhi captain a lifeline and also six runs.
Iyer then took Mavi to the cleaners in the final over. The first two balls were carted for successive sixes as Mavi erred with his length.
Glenn Maxwell was run out for 27 off the third delivery before Iyer pulled the fourth over mid-wicket for the third six of the over.
Mavi bowled a wide and then gifted Iyer a full delivery which he hammered down the ground for a four and blasted the last ball over the same region for a six.
29 runs from the last over not only helped Delhi cross the 200-run mark but also gave them the momentum which proved crucial when they came out to bowl.
KKR kept losing wickets at regular intervals and finished on a disappointing 164 for nine in their 20 overs.
