In the end, Delhi Capitals had things far too easy. In the game against the Gujarat Titans at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Delhi did not make a mistake—from winning the toss to victory. When the hosts batted first, they were 30/4 at one point and lost wickets like a house of cards. They were whittled down to 48/6 after a brief alliance, and that appeared to be Gujarat’s demise.
To save Gujarat from an embarrassing scenario, Rashid Khan produced a solid knock of 31 runs off 24 deliveries. The Shubman Gill-led team was bowled out for ninety runs by veteran pacer Mukesh Kumar, who claimed three wickets, Ishant Sharma, and Tristan Stubbs each.
DC had a terrific start to the chase thanks to Jake Fraser-McGurk, but they also frequently lost wickets. On a field that didn’t affect them much with the bat, the management shouldn’t be happy with losing four wickets, even though the visitors were never under pressure. They made an attempt to play aggressive cricket, but they were unsuccessful as they lost four wickets. Still, DC emerged victorious by six wickets and cemented their position atop the standings.
Also read: DC bowling coach James Hopes feels that Rishabh Pant’s keeping is becoming better and that his captaincy is getting very sharp
1. Gujarat Titans batsmen playing amateur cricket
The fact that the GT batters appeared so uneasy after dropping a few wickets ultimately proved to be their undoing. Their hitters were immature and ultimately bundled out for ninety runs. Right now, they appear to need a senior middle-order hitter, and Kane Williamson fits the bill.
2. In every department, clinical DC defeated GT
With their accurate bowling, Delhi’s bowlers achieved their desired outcome. They conceded wickets while playing aggressive cricket with the bat, but they finished the job in 8.5 overs. Major pluses for DC included Mukesh Kumar and Stubbs’ bowling and Rishabh Pant’s outstanding goalkeeping.
The losing skipper, Shubman Gill, said:
Our batting was very average, and it is important to move on and come back strong. The wicket was alright, if you see some of the dismissals, it had nothing to do with the pitch. Poor shot selection I would say. When the opposition are chasing 89, unless someone takes a double hat-trick, the opposition will always be in the game. This is just the halfway mark of the season for us, we have won 3 and hopefully we win another 5-6 from the next 7 like in the last couple of years.
Winning skipper and POTM Rishabh Pant said:
Lots of things to be pleased about. We talked about the champion thought process and our team showed today that we can play like that and really happy to see that. [on the bowling] Definitely one of the best, it’s early on in the tournament, can’t say much as we can improve individually. The only thought process before coming on to the field was coming in a better way, that’s the only thought when I was going through my rehab.
The only conversation we had before the chase was – let’s get it as early as possible, we lost a few run-rate points earlier and we covered it up. We just love being in Ahmedabad, we love the stadium, the vibe here and looking forward to play more matches here. We just want to enjoy our win, one at a time and move forward learning from it.
India
