Aman Khan’s bat, and Ishant Sharma’s steady final over gave DC a thrilling final-over victory

Delhi Capitals, who were in tenth place, defeated Gujarat Titans, who were in first place, at Ahmedabad in a stunning five-run victory.

The pendulum of the match swung many times, beginning when Mohammed Shami took four wickets during the powerplay to reduce the Capitals to 23 for 5. 

But the Capitals only managed 130 for 8 thanks to Aman Hakim Khan’s first T20 fifty and contributions from Axar and Ripal Patel.

When the Titans were left on the mat at 32 for 4, Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, and Kuldeep Yadav gave the Capitals the advantage. Despite the fact that Hardik Pandya’s half-century helped the chase stay on track, the Capitals were in the lead heading into the final two overs.

Rahul Tewatia’s hat-trick of sixes off Anrich Nortje in the 19th over saved the game for Titans just when it appeared to be lost. To secure the victory for the Capitals, Ishant maintained composure in the last over and allowed just six runs against Hardik, Tewatia, and Rashid Khan.

The outcome of the game was in doubt as the Titans required 42 off the final four overs. The equation was 33 off the final two overs thanks to quiet overs from Kuldeep and Khaleel to end their respective spells.

The Capitals were in control of the match as Nortje started the 19th over with three precise yorkers, but Tewatia quickly awoke the home crowd with three leg-side sixes in a row. 

The Titans were leading when Ishant came in to bowl the 20th over, but Hardik and Tewatia were unable to score in the first half of the over. 

Ishant next caught Tewatia at cover, and when Rashid Khan required a six off the last ball to force a Super Over, he only allowed a single to be given away for a final score of 2 for 23.

After the Capitals won the toss and decided to bat, Warner, who was run out, Phil Salt, and Rilee Rossouw were the first three men out. There was a chance the Capitals might give up for a score below 100 when Shami also removed Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg.

But to save the innings, Aman and Axar added 50 runs in 54 balls for the sixth wicket. Although the pitch wasn’t particularly challenging, the early shocks forced the pair to go on the defensive. 

Their scoring rate improved as their partnership progressed, but Capitals suffered another setback when Axar fell at the conclusion of the fourteenth over after misfiring on Mohit Sharma’s delivery to deep. 

After Axar was fired, Aman took over and reached the halfway point. In a play that enabled the Capitals to set the Titans 131 to win, he partnered with Ripal to assist the Capitals in scoring 41 runs from overs 16 to 18.

Then, during the pursuit, Titans were injured by Khaleel, Kuldeep, Axar, and Ishant. Wriddhiman Saha was knocked out by Khaleel in the first over of his maiden. 

After a protracted absence due to a hamstring injury, Khaleel rejoined the team. Off his first three deliveries, he beat Saha’s edge three times before finding the edge to the keeper with the final delivery of the over.

The body punches came when Ishant rattled Vijay Shankar’s stumps with a knuckleball and Kuldeep disturbed David Miller’s poles two overs after Shubman Gill was out to Nortje after finding cover with a drive. With the Titans down 32 for 4, that was almost as awful as the Capitals’ 23 for 5 situation.

The fifth-wicket partnership between Hardik and Abhinav Manohar was for 62 runs, but they took 63 balls to do it, which caused the required rate to rise gradually. 

Axar only gave up 24 runs in four wicketless overs, and Kuldeep had a modest 1 for 15, including a five-run 17th over. After Nortje’s pricey 19th over, Khaleel and Ishant both bowled excellent overs to give the Capitals something to rejoice.

Salt’s slot delivery from Shami’s first ball was a fortunate wicket for him; however, after that, it was all technique. After receiving the new ball, he immediately bowled four overs, finishing with 4 for 11 and 19 dots in 24 balls. In his second over, he got Rossouw to edge a ball that was angled across to Saha by using good length work.

He pitched right-handers Pandey and Garg in his third over, staying on a similar length with a more pronounced upright seam, and both batters were caught behind trying to hit pitches outside off. Shami, who won Player of the Match, increased his lead at the top of the tally for most powerplay wickets in the IPL 2023. 

Warner was dismissed by being run out at the non-striker’s end following a mix-up with Garg, sandwiched between Shami’s first two wickets.

After Shami’s spell ended, neither Noor Ahmad nor Rashid Khan saw much of a change in the pitch. Neither Mohit nor Josh Little were able to get enough grip with their cutters. 

Since the two seamers were unable to stop the flow of runs at the end, they ultimately finished with relatively expensive figures. Ripal’s unbeaten 13-ball 23 and Aman’s 44-ball 51, which ultimately made the difference, helped Capitals score 52 in their final five overs.