IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals defend 130 to stun defending champions Gujarat Titans

Ishant Sharma stayed calm in a tense final over as Delhi Capitals defended 130 to shock defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

GT needed 12 runs off 6 balls but the experienced Ishant gave away only 6 runs and picked dismissed the hard-hitting Rahul Tewatia to script a sensational victory for the bottom-placed DC.

Hardik Pandya played a captain’s knock and remained unbeaten on 59 in a low-scoring thriller but there was not much support from the top-order. His plan to drop anchor and let the lower-order finish in a flurry of sixes almost paid off but Tewatia’s dismissal in the final over dashed the Titans’ hopes. After the match, Hardik said he took full responsibility for not being to able to finish the chase.

Delhi Capitals have kept their hopes of a playoffs berth alive with their third win in nine matches but they still have a lot of work to do.

Delhi Capitals were 23 for 5 at the end of 5 overs and chasing 131, Gujarat Titans were 26 for 3 at the same stage of their innings. After the Powerplay, David Miller was also sent back to the pavilion for a duck with GT precariously placed at 32 for 4.

It was inexplicable batting by the top-order of both teams. Wriddhiman Saha was slammed by Sunil Gavaskar on air for his poor shot-selection as he chased a widish delivery from the left-arm Khaleel Ahmed and was dismissed for a 6-ball duck. Shubman Gill, GT’s brightest batting talent, was the next to go when he hit a half-volley from Anrich Nortje straight to Manish Pandey at cover while Vijay Shankar had no clue to a superb slower ball from Ishant Sharma. All of a sudden, Gujarat Titans were in a tangle in pursuit of a low total. And then in the 7th over, David Miller played an unbelievably poor shot to Kuldeep Yadav to bag a three-ball duck.

TEWATIA’S SIXES AND ISHANT’S HEROICS
The onus was now on GT captain Hardik Pandya and Abhinav Manohar who steadied the innings but there came a point when they needed to take care of the soaring required rate. With 30 balls left, GT needed 52 runs and had the likes of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan still to come in to bat. Hardik and Abhinav did not take any risks and the equation came down to 37 off the last 3 overs. Khaleel struck immediately in his final over to remove Abhinav Manohar as Tewatia joined Hardik who had reached his 10th IPL fifty. Khaleel bowled a brilliant over before Nortje came on to bowl the penultimate over; Tewatia stayed cool and hit the South African pace for three successive sixes to leave GT with 12 to win off the final over.

Ishant Sharma was entrusted with the high-pressure over and he put further pressure on the Titans by dismissing the dangerous Rahul Tewatia. Rashid Khan walked in with 9 runs needed off the last 2 balls but Ishant held his nerve to give DC a thrilling victory.

Delhi Capitals are ranked right at the bottom of the points table and their top-order did little to show they are not as bad as numbers this season suggest. After David Warner won the toss and decided to bat, DC were blown away. Mohammed Shami bowled 4 overs and picked career-best figures in the IPL. He was unplayable and reaped the rewards for a special spell with figures of 4 for 11. Shami struck with the first ball of the match to get Phil Salt. In his second over, Shami dismissed Rilee Rossouw with a beautiful delivery angled across the off-stump as Wriddhiman Saha accepted the catch.

Mohammed Shami struck twice in his third over to remove Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg to leave Delhi Capitals tottering at 23 for 5 by the end of 5 overs. Amid this entire carnage, DC captain David Warner was run out after a horrible call from Priyam Garg at the striker’s end. It was the worst Powerplay start this year – no team has so far lost 5 wickets inside the first 6 overs this season of the IPL.

Mohammed Shami had bowled 3 overs, giving away 7 runs for 4 wickets in the first six overs. This is now the second best Powerplay bowling figure after Ishant Sharma’s 5 for 12 for Deccan Chargers against Kochi Tuskers in 2012. It was a spectacular bowling performance from Shami who now has the Purple Cap. Like Tushar Deshpande, Shami has 17 wickets in the 2023 IPL so far but he also has a far better economy rate of 7.05. Deshpande will of course get a chance to reclaim the Purple Cap when Chennai Super Kings take on Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday.

Delhi Capitals stared at their lowest total in the IPL before the lower-order fought back with some resolute batting. Axar Patel and Aman Hakim Khan added 50 for the 6th wicket. They could not afford to play too many big shots given the situation of the innings but the partnership at least gave them hope of a better target. Axar has played some important knocks for India over the last two years and his 27 was as important for DC who needed some kind of inspiration after a horrible start to the innings.

Aman Khan, though, was the best batter for Delhi Capitals. Before Tuesday, he did not hit a single fifty in any format. What a stage Aman chose to reach his first major milestone in his professional career. The half-century was applauded by Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly at the dug-out as the rest of the team gave him a standing ovation. Aman’s 44-ball 51 helped DC get out of a hole and aim for a respectable total. Ripal Patel then came out and smashed a rapid 23 to ensure DC reached 130 for 8, a score which looked like a distant dream when they had collapsed to 23 for 5.