Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya accepts blame for not taking team over the line despite staying unbeaten on 59 while chasing a modest 131-run target set by Delhi
Skipper Hardik Pandya after GT’s loss to DC on Tuesday. Pic/AFP
Two veteran seamers came to the fore in Delhi Capitals’s stunning win over IPL-16 table toppers Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday night.
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Wily old fox Ishant Sharma’s crafty last over denied Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan any scope of getting 12 in the final six balls and Delhi posted their third win (by five runs).
Earlier, Mohammed Shami’s 4-11 in the Powerplay put Delhi on the backfoot and only a judicious knock from Aman Khan provided a semblance of respectability to Delhi’s score of 130.
Mumbai-based Aman believed his 51 was as important as the performance of the Delhi bowlers, especially the last over by Ishant.
“It’s a collective effort, but Ishant looked very confident in that last over. A lot of credit goes to Ishant for winning this match because of the way Tewatia was batting [he hit three sixes in the 19th over bowled by Anrich Nortje] and the way Hardik Pandya was batting... and you know what Rashid Khan can do,” Aman said in reply to a question from mid-day.
Pretty difficult times
“The last month has been pretty difficult. We have lost a couple of close games and I don’t know how the qualification [chances] look like, but we are looking to win all games from here.”
After losing the top four batters for 32 runs by the seventh over, Pandya (59, 53 balls, 7x4) and Abhinav Manohar (26, 33 balls, 1x6) steadied the rocking Titans boat. But the Delhi bowlers put boundaries on premium with their impeccable lengths on a wicket that was used for the third time in this edition of the IPL.
Some balls were stopping and coming, making boundary-hitting difficult.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya revealed that he could not find any rhythm while batting. “Obviously, we would have taken 129 on any given day. Those last couple of wickets and at the end, Rahul got us back in the game. I tried my best, but could not capitalise. It boils down to how I was not able to finish the game,” he said.
Also Read: IPL 2023: We lost because I could not get my rhythm, says Hardik Pandya
‘An off day for Hardik’
Talking to the media after the match, Shubman Gill admitted that Pandya had an off day. “We are all bound to have one off day. It was just one of those days off for Hardik. He did back himself to get those runs, but credit to Delhi. They bowled some really good yorkers at the back end,” the Gujarat opener added.
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