(Cricket news) Despite a shaky start at the plate for the Capitals, Aman Khan scored 51 runs (44b, 3×4, 3×6). The Delhi top order was destroyed by Mohammed Shami, and they were battling at 23-5 before the lower middle order enabled them to put up a respectable total of 130-8. Despite Hardik Pandya scoring 59 runs (53b, 7×4), the Titans had trouble scoring runs with the bat and were unable to bring the total down.
When Rahul Tewatia smacked Anrich Nortje for three back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over to get Gujarat back in the game, he made sure there would be some fireworks. However, the seasoned competitor Ishant Sharma maintained his composure with an outstanding final over that gave Delhi Capitals the victory in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi International Stadium.
The Titans had this match in hand after holding Delhi to just 130 runs in the first innings, but their lack of aggressive play from captain Hardik Pandya cost them the victory, as JioCinema TATA IPL analyst Parthiv Patel bemoaned.
Parthis Patel said, “The game went deep because he (Hardik) played low-risk cricket. If he took a few risks, they could’ve ended the game an over or two earlier chasing a target of 130 runs. When you are 59 not out in 53 balls chasing 130, you expect your team to win. He made almost half the runs and all the boundaries we saw were hit on the back foot. He was waiting for things to happen, saying ‘we need to make things happen’, he wasn’t doing that.”
Ishant Sharma had an outstanding evening, taking two wickets, one of which was essential in getting rid of Rahul Tewatia in the match’s penultimate over. In that over, the Titans only needed 12 runs to win, but Sharma only allowed them to score six. Anil Kumble, a JioCinema TATA IPL expert, lauded Sharma’s performance in securing the victory.
Anil Kumble said, “What was really impressive was his defence of the last 12 runs. Especially against two set batters. Tewatia was batting really well. He had batted only 5 balls but had scored 20. The execution of those and clarity of thought, saying ‘Okay, I’m going to bowl these wide yorkers and execute them perfectly’ and the next ball was a slower ball. That slower ball is something I am seeing Ishant Sharma doing for the first time in terms of the knuckleball, very late in his delivery stride, he changes that to a knuckleball and the execution is just perfect. He got Vijay Shankar out and then Tewatia. The last over, to defend 12 runs, against these kinds of batters is exceptional.”
JioCinema Pragyan Ojha, a TATA IPL expert, praised the DC bowling attack and hailed the Capitals and said, “I said in the pre-show that this is a massive game for Delhi because if they can beat a top team at home, it not only helps their confidence but sends a message to all other teams that they’re here to play. The biggest thing that I believe was a mistake was the decision to bat after winning the toss but the way the players responded was exceptional. When you make just 130 runs, the morale of the team goes down. But the way the bowlers handled it, the way they ran the game and supported their captain, it was brilliant. They may have lost the game in the first innings, but in the second innings, the bowlers played exceptionally.”
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