On the other hand, Hardik Pandya is not up to the mark after becoming the captain of Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans, who have performed brilliantly in the last two seasons under the captaincy of Hardik, are in trouble after his departure. The Titans, who have played seven matches this season, have registered their fourth defeat. The team, which is getting weaker in the batting match after match, collapsed for just 89 runs on Wednesday at home. The Delhi bowlers collectively boomed and the host team worked. This is Delhi’s third win in seven matches.
A small break in the IPL-2024, where the flood of runs is flowing. All the celebration was for the bowlers in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Especially Delhi Capitals bowlers are excited. The Gujarat batsmen were beaten by not giving any runs and gradually taking wickets. The Titans, completely relaxed in batting, collapsed for just 89 runs in 17.3 overs. Ishant Sharma (2/8), Tristian Stubbs (2/11), Mukesh Kumar (3/14), Khalil Ahmed (1/18) and Akshar Patel (1/17) hurt the team. If Rashid Khan (31; 2×4, 1×6 off 24 balls) did not shine at number eight, Gujarat’s situation would have been worse. After that, Delhi also lost wickets in the process of completing the breakthrough. But the team had no trouble as the target was too small. The team won by losing 4 wickets in 67 balls. Among the Titans bowlers, Sandeep Warrier took 2 wickets. Delhi captain Rishabh Pant, who scored 16 runs with two stumpings and two catches, was selected as the ‘Man of the Match’.
After losing by more than a hundred in the match against Kolkata by conceding 272 runs, Delhi, which was far behind in the net run rate, used this match well to correct it. The team’s aggression did not slow down even though wickets were falling on one side. Australia’s young batsman Jake Fraser, who won the team with a brilliant half-century in his IPL debut match (against Lucknow), shined during the fight against Gujarat. Fraser (20; 2×4, 2×6 off 10 balls) sent Madire into the stands in the first ball he faced in the last match. Even after that Spencer Johnson (1/22) turned back in bowling after playing a few shots. Another opener Prithvi Shah (7) did not stay at the crease for long. He was dismissed by Sandeep Warrier. Shy Hope (19; 1×4, 2×6 off 10 balls) along with impact player Abhishek Porel (15; 2×4 off 7 balls, 1×6) made the scoreboard run. Sandeep Porel and Rashid added Hope in short order as Delhi were on the verge of victory at 65/2. Then captain Pant (16 not out; 1×4, 1×6 in 11 balls) and Sumit Kumar (9 not out) completed the ceremony.
First of all, the conditions of Gujarat’s batters are not all due to the Delhi bowlers. Pant won the toss and invited the Titans to bat. DC bowlers made full use of the favorable conditions for bowling. The new ball bowlers Ishant Sharma and Khalil Ahmed did not even give the batters a chance to stand up and play shots. Captain Shubman Gill (8), who hit two fours and appeared on the swing, started the downfall of the Titans when Prithvi Shah was caught at short covers by Ishant’s bowling. Another opener Saha (2) was bowled by Mukesh in his first over. Sai Sudarshan (12), who has been playing consistently this season, was run out by Sumit with a lightning throw. Senior batsman Miller (2) was also included by Ishant Pavilion. Pant took Miller’s catch brilliantly. With this, Gujarat was in dire straits with 30/4 in 5 overs. In this situation, the innings fixers were confused. Then the glory of the spinners began. While Kuldeep was tying the batsmen at one end, the wickets continued to fall at the other end. Part-time spinner Tristan Stubbs, who bowled for the first time in IPL, dismissed Abhinav Manohar (8) and Shahrukh Khan (0) in the same over. Both of them were stumped by Pant with lightning speed. Even if Shahrukh was sent as an impact player as wickets fell on wickets, the Titans did not get any relief. Rashid Khan saved Gujarat who were heading towards collapse with 50/6. As he played a few shots the scoreboard moved forward a bit. But the fall of wickets did not stop at the other end. Akshar Patel sent Tewatia (10), who used to counter-attack in such situations, to the pavilion. Mukesh checked the Titans with 2 wickets in the 18th over. The team’s innings ended after 15 balls.
