DC vs GT, IPL: Another Clinical Victory for Gujarat Titans!

IPL 2023, 7th Match: Gujarat Titans 163 for 4 (Sudharsan 62*, Nortje 2-39) beat Delhi Capitals 162 for 8 (Warner 37, Rashid 3-31, Shami 3-41, Joseph 2-29) by six wickets

At the start of the 2023 season, the defending champion Gujarat Titans picked up their second consecutive victory thanks to three-wicket hauls from Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan, as well as a measured fifty from B Sai Sudharsan that was unbeaten. Delhi Capitals experienced their second consecutive misfortune, in their most memorable home game this year.

After restricting Capitals to 162 for 8 with the help of Shami, Alzarri Joseph, and Rashid, Anrich Nortje’s pace put the Titans in trouble in the sixth over, when they were 54 for 3. Sudarshan and Vijay Shankar, who played in place of Josh Little as Gujarat’s Impact Player, put together a 53-run stand to bring the Titans closer. The Titans won with 11 balls remaining thanks to the finishing touches of David Miller, who had just arrived in Delhi from Johannesburg the day before.

Shami struggles and then hurts Capitals 

The Delhi pitch was lively from the start, and Shami was unable to control his swing. In his first two powerplay innings, he gave up ten runs through wide balls. Additionally, he bowled a number of superb deliveries, one of which pounded David Warner and grazed the off stump but failed to dislodge the bail. Shami got Mitchell Marsh to cut the back of a length ball on to his stumps and got Prithvi Shaw to spoon a well-directed short ball to mid-on. Even though the Capitals went 52 for 2 on the power play, none of their batters appeared to be confident.

Joseph and Rashid restrict Capitals

The Capitals’ lives were also made miserable by Joseph. His first over resulted in 11 runs lost, but his second over stood out. By inducing a thick inside edge on the stumps, he first ended Warner’s difficult stay. Rilee Rossouw was hit by the next ball, which was a snorter. She fought up to the point and Rahul Tewatia dived forward to make a sharp catch. Joseph was swift, cruel, and precise. His vicious bouncers struck Sarfaraz Khan and Abishek Porel in the helmet as Joseph continued to travel at speeds greater than 145 kilometers per hour.

Rashid Khan, a leg spinner, was brought into the attack in the 13th over, and he had an immediate impact despite the fact that Capitals’ pace was causing a lot of problems. Rashid bowled out Sarfaraz and Aman Khan in the 17th and 19th overs with Porel playing all around a sharp leg break second ball. Just Axar Patel looked agreeable for Capitals, and his 36 off 22 balls assisted them with coming to 162.

The Sai Sudharsan-Vijay Delhi connection

Sudharsan and Vijay, both members of the Tamil Nadu team, had put together two fifty-run partnerships in four innings prior to this match. Coincidentally, both of those partnerships had occurred at the Arun Jaitley Stadium during the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. After beginning their stand in a difficult situation, the Titans batsmen scored another half-century in Delhi. Nortje had bowled the openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, and Khaleel Ahmed had Hardik Pandya gotten behind. With the asking rate under control, Sudharsan and Shankar steadily built the chase by rotating strikes and scoring occasional boundaries in between. They avoided taking unnecessary risks.

Sudarshan keeps his head; Miller does what he does best

Sudharsan, who had a great domestic season and was one of the tournament’s finds last year, plays in this IPL. He never seemed out of his depth, despite Nortje speeding things up and Kuldeep Yadav getting the odd one to rip. Sudharsan scored fifty off 44 deliveries and finished the game unbeaten. Miller, on the other hand, settled in right away and crushed Mukesh Kumar for 20 runs in the 16th over to win the match. Miller’s finishing skills made him a mainstay for the Titans last year, and he has had a similar impact this season.

Impact Players: Khaleel Ahmed and Vijay Shankar

In comparison to his Delhi counterpart, Vijay had a greater impact on the game. Khaleel took the field at the start of the second innings in place of Sarfaraz Khan. He did bowl Hardik out, but in his four overs, he got 38 runs. Vijay’s partnership with Sudharsan turned the Titans’ game around, managing a 23-ball 29.