No total can be considered safe in T20 cricket as Gujarat Titans came close to reaching their target of 225 before going down by four runs to Delhi Capitals at the Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday.
With 19 needed of the final over from Mukesh Kumar, Rashid Khan hammered two fours and a six but couldn’t pull it off in the end. The Capitals' players held their nerves in a tense finish to claim their fourth victory in nine matches.
Rasikh Salam conceded 18 off five balls in the 19th over as Sai Kishore hit two sixes before being bowled by a yorker off the last ball.
Tristan Stubbs saved five runs in that over by leaping near the boundary ropes, plucking the ball out before throwing it back into play. It denied Rashid a six which eventually made the difference.
Sai Sudarshan had kept the Titans alive with 65 off 39 balls in the chase but it was David Miller’s 55 off 23 balls which gave them real hope before Rashid ran the Capitals close.
It was Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel’s phenomenal batting which fetched the home team victory. Patel also claimed 1/28 and held three catches while Pant took two sharp chances behind the wicket.
Pant remained unbeaten on 88 off 43 balls which included eight sixes and five boundaries. Patel contributed 66 off 43 balls as the two put on a 113-run partnership for the fourth wicket as Delhi Capitals reached 224/4.
Pant was effortless yet impactful in his approach and showed that he hasn’t lost one bit of his attacking instincts during the period he was forced to miss cricket. Patel could be the spin bowling all-rounder who could be trusted, besides Ravindra Jadeja.
It was mainly because of Pant that Delhi Capitals accumulated 53 in the last two overs, the most by any team in an IPL innings. The Titans ended up with 97 in the last four.
Tristan Stubbs’ cameo of 26 not out off seven balls also contributed to the Capitals’ total.
Rashid Khan celebrates after taking the catch of Delhi Capitals’ Shai Hope during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 T20 cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans PTI
With two lefthanders pummelling the spinners by hitting them against the spin, the Titans captain Shubman Gill didn’t dare to bring in Sai Kishore. The left-arm spinner was the Man of the Match in their last match against Punjab Kings with four wickets.
He was ultimately tried out in the 19th over after Axar’s dismissal. Sai ended up conceding 22 runs in the lone over as Stubbs hammered him for two sixes and two boundaries.
The Capitals had slid from 34/0 to 44/3 in the Powerplay. It was then that Axar and Pant took them out of trouble.
Noor Ahmad conceded 36 in his three overs with Axar doing most of the damage with his wild hits over mid wicket.
The gamble to push Axar to No. 3 worked wonders. He hit back-to-back sixes off Noor in the 17th over to reach his highest IPL score before being dismissed in the same over.
Pant got into his own a little later and reached his half-century off 34 balls with a six over long on. He showed his range of shots in the final over with 31 runs off Mohit Sharma.
The pacer was hammered for four sixes and one boundary. Mohit tried everything in the coaching manual — wide yorkers, slower balls, bouncers, et al — but Pant just tonked him over the top.
