The left-handed batting duo of Sai Sudharsan and David Miller put in scintillating performances as Gujarat Titans defeated Delhi Capitals by six wickets at the Kotla in Delhi on Tuesday.
Chasing 163, the match was in the balance once the Titans were reduced to 107 for four. But Sudharsan and Miller put on an unbroken 56-run stand to tilt the scales in their favour. While Sudharsan held the innings together with 62 not out off 48 balls, Miller’s (31 not out off 16) strokeplay took the sting out of the Capitals’ attack.
Anrich Nortje did give the Capitals hope at the start of the Titans innings with two quick wickets but Vijay Shankar first, and then Sudharsan and Miller, ticked all the boxes for the defending champions.
Earlier, the Capitals suffered top-order blues before Axar Patel and Bengal’s Abishek Porel provided some stability help them reach 162 for eight.
On a lively wicket, the Capitals top order struggled against some genuine quick bowling, making it tough for the lower-order batters. Had Axar Patel (36 off 22 balls) not used his experience to good effect, even 150 would have looked a distant reality for the hosts.
Mohammed Shami, despite going for runs (3/41), and Alzarri Joseph (2/29) intimidated the top-order in the first 10 overs while Rashid Khan (3/31) hardly faced any trouble in keeping the batters under check for the better part of the innings.
Rishabh Pant waving to the crowd at the Kotla on Tuesday. Twitter
Just a month after Kotla produced a turner for the Test against Australia, the change in nature of the track was palpable as the balls literally flew off the surface. David Warner (37 off 32 balls) and Sarfaraz Khan (30 off 33 balls) tried to put up a challenge but couldn’t dominate the bowling.
Shami beat Warner’s bat a few times in his first two overs while Alzarri twice forced the umpires to call for concussion checks as Sarfaraz and Porel (20 off 11 balls) were hit on the head by well-directed bouncers.
Even a seasoned international like Rilee Rossouw (0) was snapped brilliantly at backward point by a diving Rahul Tewatia when he failed to defend a bouncer. Sarfaraz, who has been among the top scorers in domestic cricket, found the pace too quick to handle.
