Delhi Capitals' South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje, who had figures of 2/18 against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, said that though it was a "difficult wicket" to bat on, the players really hunkered down and made 150-odd runs, which turned out to be a match-winning total.
Chasing 155, Rajasthan Royals were left struggling at 55/5 in the 12th over and skipper Sanju Samson's unbeaten knock of 70 runs was not enough as Delhi Capitals went on to register a 33-run victory at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
"It was a good game for us. The guys batted really well to get us to 154/6 on a difficult wicket. Shreyas (Iyer) played his part and (Shimron) Hetmyer played well towards the end of the innings, which was really nice to see," said Nortje.
Shreyas Iyer played a fine knock of 43 runs off 32 balls to help the Delhi franchise post a total of 154 before each of the bowlers chipped in wickets to help their team reclaim their position at the top of the IPL table.
The fast bowler added that the batsmen also gave good insights about the pitch to the bowlers before they went out to defend their total. "The batsmen gave us good feedback about the wicket. Shreyas said that it was not easy to hit straight. So we just looked to hit our lengths while bowling and things worked out for us."
Asked about the current crop of Delhi Capitals bowlers, Nortje said, "It's really nice to be part of the Delhi Capitals bowling attack. Everyone knows what they have to do and how to execute it. All bowlers, whether it's Axar (Patel), (Ravichandran) Ashwin, Avesh (Khan) or (Kagiso) Rabada, everyone is clear about their roles. We've got two consecutive games in Sharjah next. So interesting times coming up for us."
The Delhi Capitals will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in their next match at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on September 28.