DC vs GT 44th Match, IPL 2023

Chasing a scanty total of 131 on their home turf, Wriddhiman Saha and the Impact substitute Shubman Gill spearheaded the innings for the Titans. Khaleel Ahmed forged early troubles for the Titans by dismissing Saha for a duck in the last delivery of the opening over. 

Skipper Hardik Pandya swatted three boundaries in the 3rd over but Anrich Nortje gave Gujarat another setback by clinching the massive wicket of Gill 6(7). Vijay Shankar, the next batter in, aimed to resurrect the innings alongside his skipper but a knuckle ball from experienced Ishant Sharma cleaned him up on 6(9).

The Titans only managed to accumulate 31 runs off the powerplay by losing three batters. Kuldeep Yadav was introduced straightaway after the powerplay and the leg spinner had an immediate impact in the game. Kuldeep removed David Miller for a duck as the southpaw was cleaned up attempting a needless ramp shot. 

Abhinav Manohar then joined forces with Hardik and started the revival of the Titans. The duo batted deftly on a troubling surface and dragged the game to the deep. The Capitals were excellent to dry up the boundaries but they were unable to cease the rotation in the strike. The 62-run partnership between the duo was ended by Khaleel in the 18th over as Manohar 26(33) holed out in the deep.

The Titans required 33 off the last 12 deliveries when the ‘Iceman’ Rahul Tewatia swatted Anrich Nortje for three consecutive maximums and changed the entire complexion of the game. However, Ishant Sharma brought all of his experience into the play and saved 12 runs off the last over. 

Earlier in the contest, after electing to bat first, the visitors were off to a horrid start as Mohammed Shami got better off Philip Salt in the first delivery of the encounter. Skipper David Warner pulled through the opening over only to be involved in a mix-up in the following over and walk back early at 2(2). 

The South African Rilee Rossouw, replacing Mitchell Marsh in this contest, swatted two consecutive boundaries to end the second over, but a gentle outswinger from Shami was too much for the southpaw. Rilee departed for 8(6) and left a fragile Delhi middle-order in all sorts of trouble. Shami was on a song inside the powerplay and his outswingers flustered the Capitals. Manish Pandey 1(4) and Priyam Garg 10(14) were the next batters to fall prey to Shami as the right-armer finished his stint with exceptional figures of 4/11. 

The Capitals were tottering at 23/5 when Aman Khan and in-form Axar Patel got together in an attempt to rescue the Delhi innings. The left-right pair of Aman and Axar soaked up the pressure and started to move the scorecard by rotating the strike. The duo stitched a 50-run partnership for the 6th wicket before Mohit Sharma deceived Axar for 27(30). 

Following Axar’s wicket, Aman stepped on the gas and added some crucial runs to the tally. Ripal Patel also played a good hand in aggregating a quick 53-run partnership between him and Aman. The right-hander Aman Khan registered his maiden IPL half-century, and just when he was cruising Delhi towards a competitive total, the magician Rashid Khan did what he’s best at and dismissed him for 51(44). Ripal Patel also orchestrated a crucial 23(13).

Mohit Sharma was outstanding with the slower deliveries at the backend and restricted Capitals to 130/8 in the first innings. Shami was the pick of the bowlers for the Titans and bagged a four-wicket haul. Mohit ended his stint with the figures of 2/33 and Rashid Khan also clinched a wicket in the penultimate over of the innings. Stick around for the post-match presentation!