New Delhi: All-round performance from Delhi Capitals (DC) players guided them to victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) by four runs in the 40th encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
Chasing a mammoth total of 225 runs, GT didn’t have the start that they wanted as skipper Shubman Gill was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just six runs when the team score was 13.
After the skipper’s dismissal, the franchise’s impact player Sai Sudarshan came out to bat in the middle along with wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha.
The Gujarat-based franchise completed the side’s fifty in the fourth over as Sudarshan took a single on the bowling of Anrich Nortje.
In the sixth over, Sudarshan and Saha brought up their 50-run partnership as the former smashed the third ball of the over for a boundary which was bowled by Mukesh Kumar.
The second wicket of Gujarat innings fell in the 10th over as Saha was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. Saha was dismissed after scoring 39 runs off 25 balls which included five boundaries and a six.
After Saha’s wicket, Azamatullah Omarzai came out to bat but he was sent back to the dressing room after scoring just one run when the team score was 98.
Sudarshan completed his half-century in the 10 over as he took a double on the bowling of Kuldeep.
David Miller came out to bat next in the middle along with Sudarshan. The franchise completed its 100-run mark in the 11th over.
The fourth wicket to fall was of Sudarshan who was dismissed after playing an outstanding knock of 65 runs in just 39 balls which was laced with seven boundaries and two maximums.
In the 15th over, Shubman Gill-led side lost their fifth wicket when the team score was 139. Shahrukh Khan was dismissed after scoring just eight runs on the bowling of Rassikh Salam.
Rahul Tewatia was the sixth wicket to fall at the score of 152. He was able to score just six runs.
In the 18th over, the Titans lost the seventh wicket. Miller was dismissed after scoring a brilliant innings of 55 runs from 23 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.
In the 19th over, Tristan Stubbs’s acrobatic effort saved five runs for the side which proved to be match-saving runs in the end. In the same over, the GT side lost the wicket of Sai Kishore.
In the 20th over, 19 runs were needed to win but unfortunately, the side ended up on a losing cause as they were able to score only 14 runs.
Rasikh Salam was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts as he conceded 44 runs in four overs. Two wickets were grabbed by Kuldeep Yadav and one wicket each was bagged by Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, and Axar Patel in their respective spells.
Put to bat first, DC started with a new opening batting pair set up for this high-value fixture, with in-form Jake Fraser McGurk joining Prithvi Shaw in the absence of his usual partner David Warner.
After being dropped on 4 Fraser McGurk started to show his usual explosiveness at the crease from the very start however he fell prey to Sandeep Warrier in the 4th over of the game. In an unusual decision, DC sent Axar Patel in at number 3 and the decision was proven right by the all-rounder as he kept piling runs for his team.
A sensational catch by Noor Ahmed dismissed the other remaining DC opener – Prithvi Shaw as Warrier delivered a fine delivery to remove a well-set batter.
Warrier turned the powerplay around for the Gujarat Titans with two wickets in an over courtesy of two catches from Noor. GT captain Shubman Gill chose to extend his faith in Warrier by bringing him on for the final over of the powerplay and the faith brought fruit as the bowler bagged his third wicket of the night in Shai Hope.
Axar and Rishabh Pant with steady and strong at the crease brought up their 50-partnership within just 34 balls. DC’s plans to send Axar Patel up the order brought fruit for them as he completed his second IPL half-century within just 37 balls.
Axar’s sensational innings of 66 runs came to an end with Noor Ahmed redeeming himself after getting hit for back-to-back sixes. Pant kept his blistering form going and brought up his third half-century of the ongoing season with six at long-on in just 34 balls. Tristan Stubbs then came out to bat.
Captain Gill’s plan of bringing Sai Kishore for the 19th over failed significantly as Stubbs single-handedly smoked the spinner for 22 runs with the help of two maximums and 2 boundaries.
In the last over, Pant destroyed experienced bowler Mohit Sharma for 4 sixes and one boundary, taking DC’s total to 224/4 in 20 overs.
Brief Score: Gujarat Titans 220/8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 65, David Miller 55, Rasikh Salam 3/44) vs Delhi Capitals 224/4 (Rishabh Pant 88*, Axar Patel 66; Sandeep Warrier 3-15).
