The Delhi Capitals got off to a fantastic start in the VIVO IPL 2021 with a seven-wicket win over the Chennai Super Kings here at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. Delhi Capitals' opening batsman Prithvi Shaw was in the thick of things as he blasted his way to 38-ball 72-run innings, helping his team chase down a target of 189 runs with 8 balls to spare.
"Very happy with the way I batted. Everyone executed whatever we practiced in the last few days. It was brilliant to see everyone contributing to the team. The opening stand which we got was very crucial for us. Chasing 190 odd is not easy without a good start. It was a great win for us; however, I should've stayed in the middle until the end. So, if I have to rate my innings out of 10, I will give an 8 to myself," said Shaw.
Rishabh Pant with DC head coach Ricky Ponting. [Credits: Delhi Capitals]
The 21-year-old, who scored a whopping 827 runs in 8 matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, spoke about how he got back into form before the VIVO IPL 2021, "I made some small changes in my batting before the IPL. I just wanted to minimize all the mistakes I was making, and I worked hard. I practiced for two weeks with Strength & Conditioning Coach Rajinikanth Sivagnanam sir and Pravin Amre sir before the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Then I just played my natural game with a few changes in the Vijay Hazare Trophy."
When asked about the newly appointed Skipper
Rishabh Pant's captaincy, Shaw said, "We really miss Shreyas Iyer, and he led the team very well. However, Rishabh Pant is very smart. He is fearless and enjoys the game. He's very entertaining on the field and is very cool and calm as a Captain. He's doing a fantastic job for the team."
The opening batsman expressed that he worked out his technical errors with Rajinikanth Sivagnanam and Pravin Amre and speaks to the Delhi Capitals Head Coach Ricky Ponting more about tactics as a batsman, "With Ricky, I generally speak to him about tactics and strategies as a batsman. He has played so much cricket and he has got the experience which he can share with us and he does especially with the youngsters. I am really enjoying working with him."
Shaw, who was very happy with the team's performance in their first match of the season, had a special message for the Delhi Capitals fans, "All the fans have given us so much love. The fans were still caring for me even when I wasn't doing well before the Vijay Hazare Trophy so I would like to thank everyone and ask them to keep supporting me and the Delhi team for this IPL."
![Prithvi Shaw scored a quick-fire half-century to help set up the run-chase for Delhi Capitals. [Credits: News18]](https://thebridge.in/h-upload/2021/04/11/2524-prithvi-shaw-scored-a-quick-fire-half-century-to-help-set-up-the-run-chase-for-delhi-capitals-credits-news18.webp "Prithvi Shaw scored a quick-fire half-century to help set up the run-chase for Delhi Capitals. [Credits: News18]")
