Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday scripted an inspired comeback to overcome an early scare, and eventually defeat Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad.
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From 23/5 at one stage to posting a moderate total of 130/8, and then valiantly defending their total is no mean feat. And to do it against GT in their own home ground in Ahmedabad would mean even special for DC.
They say no totals are safe to defend, but on Tuesday, DC proved otherwise. When the rest of their batting lineup seemed to be in tatters, someone had to step up to the occasion. And on Tuesday, it was Aman Hakim Khan.
Aman Hakim Khan had not got the opportunity to play the role of an anchor so far this season, but on Tuesday, he took the opportunity with open arms, and played a knock of 51 off 44 balls.
Had it not been for Aman, DC would have found the going tough against GT, and at one stage, DC even risked getting all out for the lowest IPL team total.
There were only two 50-plus stands in the DC innings, and both involved Aman Khan. The first was a 50-run stand with Axar Patel for the sixth wicket, and that was followed by a 53-run stand with Ripal Patel.
As a result, both the partnerships proved vital for DC, and yet again changed the course of the game, where the pendulum swung several times.
Collective bowling effort
For DC, it was a collective bowling effort that saved the day. Ishant Sharma may be in his final stages of his career at 34, but he turned back the clock with figures of 2/23. Khaleel Ahmed (2/24) too struck at crucial junctures of the game, while Anrich Nortje (1/39) despite being a bit expensive, got the crucial wicket of Shubman Gill, who can be dangerous once he gets going.
Kuldeep Yadav (1/15) too registered good bowling figures.
Mohammed Shami strikes
Everyone knows how dangerous Mohammed Shami can be. But, probably, Delhi Capitals were just not ready yet to face Shami’s threatening pace.
Shami struck in the very first delivery of the contest, removing Phil Salt with an outswinger that ended up on the hands of David Miller at extra cover. But, little did DC know that they would be half the side down before the end of powerplay.
What a spell this from @MdShami11 🤯🤯
He finishes his lethal spell with figures of 4/11 😎
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/VQGP7wSZAj #TATAIPL | #GTvDC pic.twitter.com/85KNVfYXEf
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 2, 2023
DC soon lost David Warner, arguably their best batter of the season so far, to a run out in the second over, and Shami returned to haunt Delhi in the third, removing Rilee Rossouw.
Shami continued his onslaught against DC, removing both Priyam Garg and Axar Patel in the fifth over. By now, DC were half the side down, and their batting lineup was exposed. Their batting, though was not exposed for the first time this season. Without Rishabh Pant, their batting has been somewhat below par, and maybe a bit over-reliant on Warner.
But Aman Khan saved DC from the blushes, with his gritty fifty taking them to 130.
Despite ending up on the losing side, Shami, who finished with figures of 4/11, eventually won the Player of the Match award.
Lessons to learn for DC, despite the win
By no means was their win over GT perfect or clinical. DC found the going tough early on in the contest, and it was yet again their batters who failed to step up. Prithvi Shaw was once again dropped for this and Phil Salt was brought in to open with Warner, but Salt could hardly make any difference. A good start with the bat is what a team needs, especially if you opt to bat, but maybe their batters lacked the character to perform well.
Let’s put this into context. David Warner leads the DC batting charts with 308 runs, followed Axar Patel (238). But, their next best batter after Axar is Manish Pandey (133). These stats go onto show that apart from Warner and Axar, not many have stepped up to the occasion and produced the big individual scores with the bat. DC cannot be too reliant on Warner and Axar, and in pressure situations, the others have to take up responsibility and fire. Just like Aman Hakim Khan did.
Aman Khan’s gritty knock can be a lesson for the DC’s batters. Manish Pandey’s strike-rate has been one of the talking points this season for DC, and he has not really got going for DC, barring a fifty against RCB in Bengaluru.
Warner had just a few words to talk about DC’s batting, but it’s really anyone’s guess as to what really is wrong with it.
“Credit to the way Aman and Ripal played from then on to get up that score. We just find ways to lose wickets in clumps, I always hate it when there’s a run out. I don’t know what’s happening with our batting. We tried playing positively today with the bat, didn’t come off,” said Warner after the match.
Despite winning the match against GT, DC must make sure a similar incident of an early collapse does not happen again, and an improved, collective batting effort with consistent partnerships is what they will hope for, ahead of their next game against RCB on Saturday in Delhi.
GT, meanwhile, travel to Jaipur to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday. At the moment, both teams occupy the top two spots in the standings, and even if the standings change by then, that contest promises to be a cracker of a game, maybe even a season-defining one.
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