Delhi Capitals kept their IPL season alive with a dramatic five-run victory over Gujarat Titans, the table-toppers, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After Mohammed Shami’s sublime new-ball burst had wrecked Delhi’s top order, they showed considerable character to put 130 on the board. A multi-skilled and disciplined bowling display did the rest.
Well done, Khaleel
Talk about Khaleel Ahmed. The first and 18th overs. Those were match-turning moments. An India discard, the left-armer from Rajasthan was spot on with those 12 deliveries which cost four runs and fetched two crucial wickets. Defending 130 even on a sluggish pitch was quite a task for Delhi Capitals. The other two overs he bowled went for 20. However, that did not matter in the end. He set the tone by delivering a wicket-maiden in the first over, and then choked Gujarat Titans with that crucial 18th which saw just four scored. Those wide-of-off-stump deliveries turned out to be the order of the day. Mohammad Shami had done that, Ishant Sharma did that, and so did Khaleel.
The middle overs
The middle-overs bowling by Delhi Capitals changed the complexion of the match. From 31-3 after six, Gujarat Titans reached 79-4 after 15. That left them with 52 to win from five on a slightly dodgy pitch where shot-making was not that easy. Credit goes to Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma and others for doing the stupendous job of defending what was seemingly indefensible. David Warner, their captain, was spot-on with his bowling changes and also kept the boys in high spirits. His body language made a difference. They never appeared as if they were fighting a lost cause. This was incredible. Gujarat stay top of the table and Delhi bottom, but this is not over, at least as of now.
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What a Shami
This was Test match bowling, and that’s why it was sensational. Not often does an opening bowler stick to that full length in a T20 game. Shami did that, got success and was given four overs on the trot. This was fast bowling of the classical type and of very high order. The first ball of the match fetched him a wicket, but was perhaps a bit fuller than ideal. The length correction happened almost immediately. This was a rare sight. A fast bowler running in, keeping it full, not getting much movement. But still, it was ball hitting bat or taking the edge, more of the latter. Figures of 4-0-11-4 were unbelievable.
Aman the man
Aman Khan is a newcomer in the IPL, but not exactly a rookie. He made his white-ball debut for Mumbai in 2021. Success, so to say, did not come his way and he remained a peripheral character. Lying low this season in the IPL before this game, he came good when it mattered, with Delhi Capitals in desperate need of something substantial from their batters. To be the pillar in two 50-run partnerships from 23-5 took some doing. He did not do anything spectacular, just concentrated on staying there in the first phase of his innings before cutting loose towards the end. In the context of the match, this was a knock of immense value and valour.
The Miller howler
David Miller, what did you do? There was no need to attempt that scoop off Kuldeep Yadav at that stage of the Gujarat Titans innings. The team had lost three wickets by the fifth over and his job was to keep Hardik Pandya company. The skipper was doing what exactly was needed. He was getting the boundaries and rotating strike. That is exactly what Miller had to do instead of going for pyrotechnics. Playing out overs, taking singles and twos would have done the job. The asking rate was not even a consideration at that stage. But Miller went for the hyperactive, the extravagant. And that was costly. It’s not fair to blame an individual for such an anticlimactic outcome, but this was a killer mistake from Miller. It turned the match.