Ahmedabad, May 2
Aman Khan’s maiden T20 fifty was beautifully complemented by the pacers as Delhi Capitals kept their playoffs hopes alive with a tense five-run win over defending champions Gujarat Titans in the IPL here today.
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. David Warner, DC Captain
Bowling impeccable lengths, Mohammed Shami (4/11) was lethal with the new ball as he knocked the wind out of the Capitals’ top-order.
Aman (51 off 44) waged a lone battle, putting some much-need runs on the board. He added 50 off 54 balls with Axar Patel (27) and 53 off 27 balls with Ripal Patel (23) as DC managed 130/8.
In reply, Hardik Pandya’s (59 off 53) sedate fifty and Rahul Tewatia’s (20) hat-trick of sixes were not enough as Delhi’s bowlers held their nerves to stop the table-toppers at 125/6. It was the third win of the season for Delhi, who continue to remain at the bottom of the table.
Defending a modest target, Delhi’s pacers were able to make early breakthroughs as Gujarat
lost three wickets inside the powerplay.
If Impact Player Khaleel Ahmed (2/24) bowled a beautiful first over, which was a wicket-maiden, Anrich Nortje (1/39) got
rid of the dangerous
Shubman Gill (6).
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma (2/23) too joined the party as he outfoxed Vijay Shankar (6) with a perfectly executed knuckle ball.
Wickets continued to tumble with the introduction of the slow bowlers as left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (1/15) bamboozled David Miller (0) in the seventh over.
Pandya and Abhinav Manohar (26) steadied the Gujarat ship with a 62-run stand for the fifth wicket.
With 30 needed off 9 balls, Tewatia hit three back-to-back sixes to bring the equation down to 12 off six balls. However, Ishant gave away just six runs while taking the vital wicket of Tewatia in the final over.
Brief score: Delhi Capitals: 130/8 (Aman 51; Shami 4/11); Gujarat Titans: 125/6 (Hardik 59; Ishant 2/23, Khaleel 2/24).