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Over the years, mind games between players on and off the field have become the norm. There have been numerous occasions where the players successfully diverted their rival's attention by sledging them during or before the match.
On the other hand, these comments have sometimes come back to haunt the players with their opponents forcing them to eat humble pie. In this article, we will look at those five statements that did not age well in IPL 2020.
5. Vijay Shankar records his first IPL duck
Before IPL 2020 began, Vijay Shankar stated in an interview with ESPNCricinfo that he held the record for the most IPL innings without a duck for an Indian batsman in response to being asked what record he would like to break in the IPL.
However, Shankar got out for a duck in the Sunrisers Hyderabad's first IPL 2020 fixture against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. His team needed a solid knock from him, but unfortunately, the all-rounder saw his stumps broken by Yuzvendra Chahal, off the first ball he faced.
4. Shreyas Iyer wanted to win all league matches in IPL 2020
ESPNCricinfo also interviewed the Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer before IPL 2020. When asked which record he would love to break this season, the right-handed batsman made a bold statement and said that he wished for DC to become the first franchise to win all 14 league matches in a season.
To date, not a single team has managed to qualify for the playoffs undefeated. While DC made a solid start to their IPL 2020 season, they lost their path halfway through the league phase, and ultimately finished at second position. It goes without saying that Iyer's men could not match their leader's target.
3. Chennai Super Kings said they would not bid for Rohit Sharma
An old tweet by the Chennai Super Kings had gone viral after the Mumbai Indians won their fifth IPL trophy last Tuesday. Before the mega auction of 2011, a fan asked CSK to sign Rohit Sharma in the auction.
The Chennai-based franchise neglected his advice, and currently, Sharma is the only captain to win the IPL five times. The fans would have loved watching MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, and Sharma in the yellow jersey, but it was not meant to be.
2. Shikhar Dhawan fails to open his account after saying he knew MI's plans
The Mumbai Indians dominated the Delhi Capitals in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2020. Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah removed their Top 3 batsmen before they could score a single run. It is pertinent to note that DC opener Shikhar Dhawan had stated in a pre-match interview that he knew MI's plans.
Here's what Dhawan told TOI:
“I have seen and played them enough. I am just relaxing because I want to be fresh for the game. I will watch their videos again. I already know the plans."
Unfortunately, his pre-match comment did not age well.
1. Marcus Stoinis predicted an off-day for MI in the IPL 2020 Final
Marcus Stoinis was one of the biggest positives for the Delhi Capitals at IPL 2020. The Australian all-rounder played a pivotal role in DC's journey to their maiden IPL final, scoring 352 runs and scalping 13 wickets.
Stoinis had won the Man of the Match award in the Qualifier 2 match between the Delhi Capitals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his post-match interview, he felt that the Mumbai Indians were due an off-day on the night of the grand finale.
"Mumbai are a very good team, I'd like to say they're due an off game but you never know. Our best cricket should be good enough to win, we have to play very good cricket to beat them," Stoinis had said.
However, the Mumbai Indians continued from where they had left off in Qualifier 1 as Boult dismissed Stoinis off the match's first ball. The Aussie then went for 23 runs in his two overs. While the DC all-rounder expected MI to have an off game, it was Stoinis that ended up not coming up with the goods in the end.
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