Another epic battle, another epic finish and the crowd at Kotla were delighted as Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals (DC) clinched a final-over thriller by 4 overs, defeating the Gujarat Titans (GT) for the second time this season.
Delhi’s sinking ship got a little more time to stay afloat in the playoff race, thanks to Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 88 off 43 balls and a game-changing partnership with all-rounder Axar Patel that provided the hosts with an extra cushion to dodge the counter-attack by Sai Sudharsan and David Miller. DC have now levelled points with Mumbai Indians before facing the 5-time champions this weekend in what’s going to be a battle of survival.
The Death Over Drama
A mammoth chase always needed a top show from a top-order batter and Sai Sudharshan, the Impact Sub, thrived under pressure with a 65 off 39, including 2 sixes and 7 boundaries. But his belligerent innings was cut short by DC’s Impact player Rasikh Dar. The right-arm quick not only returned 3 wickets but also took the catch of a dangerous David Miller who had almost taken the game away from DC’s claws before falling prey to Mukesh Kumar in the 18th over.
The game was hung by a fine thread as the Titans needed 19 off the last 6 balls with a proven hard-hitter Rashid Khan in the middle, up against an under-fire Mukesh Kumar. But the fast bowler managed to save Delhi’s pride despite getting hit for a couple of boundaries and a six.
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DC’s Resurgence
If Delhi had Dar, the Titans found a great aid in Sandeep Warrier. In a league of big-hitters and colossal totals, Warrier’s sheer brilliance with the new ball stole the limelight away from Delhi Capitals in the Powerplay. Playing just his second game for the Titans this season, his 3/15 was neatly spread over the 3rd and 6th over where he had the DC openers, Jake Fraser McGurk and Prithvi Shaw, and Shai Hope in his pocket.
The same old story seemed to repeat for Delhi – the least assistance from the top-order and the middle-order doing the heavy lifting. But Axar Patel, promoted to No. 3, and skipper Rishabh Pant painted a completely different picture, filling it with vibrant colours, dipping their brushes in GT players’ sweat.
Axar and Pant didn’t go bang-bang from the word go, instead, they held their nerves to decode Gujarat’s slower-ball theory. By the end of the 15th over, the southpaw had reached his fifty off 37 balls while the skipper was still catching up. While they were huffing and puffing, a Mohit Sharma over fuelled their partnership and the Titans were all over the place.
Pant whipped the GT senior pacer over the cow corner for a six and another one over long-off, recharging himself to deliver the best knock this season. Meanwhile, Noor Ahmed chipped in to decimate Patel on 66 off 43. However, his figures – 3/36 in 3 overs – devalued the crucial breakthrough he provided to break the 113-run partnership.
With Axar gone and just a few deliveries left in the innings, the focus was solely on Pant as DC eyed a 200-plus score. GT could have foiled Delhi’s plan but they shot themselves in the foot with a listless bowling strategy. Holding back Sai Kishore and deploying him in the 19th over backfired as Tristan Stubbs whacked him for a hat-trick of sixes.
The final over turned even worse as the visitors tried containing the DC storm with an expensive Sharma ahead of an economical Warrier. Pant had the last laugh, belting the experienced pacer for four sixes and a four to collect 31 runs, taking Delhi Capitals to 224/4 in 20 overs.
His innings, which included 8 sixes and 5 boundaries, was a timely reminder to the national selectors who are likely to pick the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup shortly.
Mohit Sharma’s unwanted feat
With a brutal assault against Sharma, Pant registered his highest score this season. Batting on 58 off 37 balls in the final over, the DC captain plundered in the last five balls and handed an unwanted record to GT’s most experienced fast bowler.
Sharma was hammered for 73 runs in his four overs without a wicket. He returned the most expensive bowling spell in the history of IPL and surpassed Basil Thampi’s figures of 0/70 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the IPL 2018.
Brief Score:
DC 224 for 4 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 88 not out, Axar Patel 66; Sandeep Warrier 3/15)
GT 220 for 8 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 65, David Miller 55; Rasikh Dar 3/44)
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