Delhi Capitals (DC) stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan heaped praises on debutant Tushar Deshpande, who picked up two wickets in their 13-run win over Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium.
Deshpande got his first wicket in the form of the dangerous Ben Stokes and then bowled the last over which sealed the deal for Delhi as they continued on their dominating run in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“The courage he (Deshpande) showed, the line and length he bowled was amazing,” said Dhawan in the post-match presentation ceremony.
“He took the very important wicket of Stokes and from there the momentum changed for us. It was important for us to win, have to keep the momentum. It’s a long tournament. Will keep the process going.”
Dhawan captained the team for much of the RR innings after Shreyas Iyer walked off with a shoulder injury in the early exchanges. “He’s (Iyer) in pain but his shoulder is moving. We’ll get proper report tomorrow,” said Dhawan.
“It was important we stayed positive as a team. We knew their batting isn’t deep and if we got their top-order we can get them. Our bowling unit is quite experienced, right from our fast bowlers to the spinners,” he added.
It was Delhi’s sixth win from eight matches and with 12 points now, Shreyas Iyer’s men have regained the top spot in the points table. They dethroned Mumbai Indians. Rajasthan, meanwhile, stand seventh with six points from eight matches.
Opting to bat first, Delhi Capitals put on board a commendable total of 161/7 courtesy of a half-centuries by Shikhar Dhawan (57) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (53).
Defending the total, Delhi bowler showed their usual brilliance with an a-round display where each of them contributed to the team’s cause.
Anrich Nortje (2/33) and Tushar Deshpande (2/37) were the pick of the bowlers, while Kagiso Rabada (1/28), Ravichandran Ashwin (1/17) and Axar Patel (1/32) were also on the money as they restricted Rajasthan to 148/8.