IPL 2023, GT vs DC | Who said what ft. Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami
Bottom-placed Delhi Capitals stunned table-toppers Gujarat Titans in their own backyard on Tuesday to script one of the most remarkable thrillers in the tournament’s history. Ishant Sharma was the hero for the Capitals, as he conceded just six off the final over after coming to defend 12 runs.
Mohammed Shami’s exceptional bowling with the new ball, which rewarded him with figures of 4-0-11-4, went in vain for Gujarat Titans as they endured a heartbreaking five-run defeat against a spirited Delhi Capitals side in Match 44 of IPL 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium. Shami’s magnificent performance, ably supported by the Rashid Khan-led attack, left Delhi reeling at 23/5 at one point before Aman Hakim Khan’s 44-ball 51 and Axar Patel’s 30-ball 27 saved the day. Ripal Patel joined the party later, scoring 23 off just 13 balls to take his side to a respectable total of 130/8.
Coming to chase, the Titans lost both openers Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha early to suffer setbacks. Vijay Shankar and David Miller did not last long either as they were reduced to 32/4. Then Hardik Pandya and Abhinav Manohar steadied the ship, with the former remaining not out on 59 off 53 balls but the required run rate began to climb. Coming to bat at No. 7, Rahul Tewatia unleashed himself in the penultimate over, smashing three sixes off three balls from Anrich Nortje to lower the equation. However, in the end, Ishant Sharma used all his experience to trick the opposition in a match that went down to the wire.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Hardik admitted that their bowlers put up a stupendous performance yet again. Still, their batters, including himself, could not manage to shift the gears throughout the innings.
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 capitalize. It boils down to me. We were hoping to get a couple of big overs in the middle but at that point in time, we could not get rhythm. It was new for Abhinav as well. It boils down to how I was not able to finish the game. Full marks to their bowlers as well and full ownership of my side when I could not finish the game. I should've. We could not get the rhythm in the middle. Rahul brought us back into the game. Otherwise, they were quite ahead. The intent had to be there. It's just that we lost a couple of wickets where if you keep losing wickets, it's difficult to keep the intent as well. I think it's just that this game I think we lost because I could not get my rhythm and we kept losing wickets at the start and that put us under pressure. We like to take it deep and get a couple of big overs which we could not get.
At the same time, Hardik felt sorry for Shami, who produced a stellar show against the Delhi batters.
I feel sorry for him (Shami). If you bowl like that, then you get the team on 129, I think batters disappointed. I don't think the ball did a lot. I think it's just that Mohammed Shami's skill set which he has and he made the ball talk. Otherwise, I think for fast bowlers, the wicket did not have much assistance. But the way he bowled four on the trot and got us in the game, full credit. As I said, batters and particularly myself did not finish and we disappointed him. It's still a lot of games left. We'll take all the learnings from this game and rectify it a little better and move on. We have won a lot of games from the same position. We are still at the top of the table but we need to keep playing good cricket. Today, we did not finish the game.
Warner, the DC skipper, lauded both Shami and Ishant for shining in Ahmedabad and also credited Ripal and Aman for rescuing them from a humiliating total.
Our bowlers were absolutely amazing. Our batters struggled early up. Credit to the way that Shami bowled, always presents a good seam, and took early wickets. But a great anchor role with Aman and Ripal and it was a fantastic way to finish our innings. That was a nail-biter. With Ishant forever getting younger and coming out and delivering, it's amazing to see him. How much did he hold his nerves there at the end? Credit to him.
The man with the golden arm, Ishant revealed what was going in his mind when he faced Tewatia during the final over, and how he managed to have the last laugh.
Even in the nets when I bowl with the new ball, I was practicing bowling wide yorkers. Today, I think the hard work pays off. I just backed myself and bowled wide yorkers. Coaches do that. There's a lot of time we spend in preparation, planning for certain batsmen which balls to bowl to them. It's all about backing yourself. I don't think about how many people are watching. It's all about executing those single balls every single time when you are on the field. So I was just backing myself to bowl these wide yorkers. (On facing Tewatia) I've played enough cricket with him so I was just having fun with him. I knew he was going to know what my short ball is, so I knew I had to double-bluff him. Otherwise, I knew he was the type of batsman who can finish the game for Gujarat. So I was double bluffing him and bowling the balls.
Shami, the Player of the Match, was delighted to perform so brilliantly against potent Delhi batters. It is pertinent to note that Shami has claimed the Purple Cap at this point, having taken 13 wickets at an average of just 14.53.
I just try to stick to my plans. Stick to the areas, the line, and the length that we discussed. This wasn't a score that was above par, there was not too much swing. I felt we should have chased this. The mistake was losing wickets at regular intervals, we needed partnerships and they came too late for us. However, plenty of games left. Such things happen.