Dubai, Sep 23 (IANS): Delhi Capitals batsman Shreyas Iyer was on Thursday thrilled with the manner in which he batted against Sunrisers Hyderabad in his first match on return from a shoulder injury.

Iyer played a crucial knock of 47 runs off 41 balls as Delhi Capitals wrapped up the chase of 135 in 17.5 overs. In the process, he also completed 4000 runs in T20 format.

The Delhi Capitals started the second half of the IPL 2021 on a fabulous note, defeating SRH by eight wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Delhi Capitals' fast bowlers Anrich Nortje (2/12) and Kagiso Rabada(3/37) picked up five wickets between themselves to help their team restrict SRH to 134/9 before the Delhi Capitals batsmen wrapped up the chase for the loss of two wickets.

Iyer was thrilled to make a dream comeback. "It was a great feeling to be out there. It was like a story unfolding the way I wanted it to. It really felt special because I expected myself to come back into the team and perform. I am really happy with my performance," he was quoted as saying by Delhi Capitals in a release on Thursday.

The 26-year-old added that he looked to back his instincts in the middle. "I wanted to be positive when I went into bat and I wanted to back my instincts. I looked to bat till the end and finish the game. And that's what happened. I gave myself some time in the middle and after a while, I was able to pick up the length of the deliveries."

When asked about the importance of starting off with a victory, Iyer said, "It's the best feeling in the world. When we came to Dubai, we were on top of the table and now starting with a bang in this game, I feel that the spirits are high in the team. We need to continue with the same momentum and let's hope that we have a blast of a season."

The Delhi Capitals will take on the Rajasthan Royals in their next match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, (September 25).