In a game that went down to the last ball, Delhi Capitals (DC) held their nerve and clinched a dramatic four-run win over Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Chasing a huge 225 to win, GT came close as it went down to the wire. In the end, DC sealed their fourth win of the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. 

Rishabh Pant’s effort headlined DC’s efforts with the bat, as his pyrotechnics in the slog overs pushed them to a formidable 224. Keeping the recent match between DC and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in mind, one would have expected a big score when DC were put into bat first. However, when Sandeep Warrier’s inspired spell of seam bowling, backed by some great fielding efforts, reduced DC to 44 for three in the sixth over, not many would have thought the hosts would get to the big score. Pant was helped by 43-ball 66 by Axar Patel as they added 113 runs in tandem to rescue DC from that tricky spot. 

Prithvi Shaw started innings with a punch through extra cover for four. His opening partner, Jake Fraser-McGurk, continued his attacking form by taking it to the bowling from the outset. In the early overs, he raced to 23 with two big hits through the leg-side. Warrier came on to bowl the fourth over and made an impact. Fraser-McGurk tried to clear square-leg again but did not get the distance and was caught on the boundary. Shaw tried pulling one, but Noor Ahmad ran in from the deep and dived forward to take a good low catch. In the sixth over, Warrier dismissed Shai Hope, who skied one to third-man, where Rashid Khan took a good diving catch. Warrier finished his spell at three for 15 in three overs. 

Woah 🔥🔥

Noor Ahmad holds on to a sharp catch in the deep as #DC lose both their openers!

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

Pant and Axar took over at this stage. Axar was promoted to No. 3 and played a stable hand. Over the next few overs, Pant and Axar rotated strike and found the occasional boundaries. It was a gradual build-up for DC following those early losses. As the overs progressed, the batters opened up, particularly Axar, who got to his fifty off 37 balls in the 15th over. At that stage, DC were 127 for three. Pant was batting on a sedate 34 off 26 balls. This is when things turned for DC. The carnage that followed symbolised the Rishabh Pant School of Batting that doesn’t give the bowlers an inch in terms of margin for error. 

𝙋𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘!

FIFTY 🆙 for the @DelhiCapitals skipper, who aims to finish on a high with such serious shots 😎

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

The next five overs went for a total of 97 runs – out of which 53 were scored in the last two overs. In that phase, Pant faced 17 balls and scored 54 more runs. It started with two sixes off Mohit Sharma’s over in the 16th by Pant. Noor bowled the 17th and Axar hit him for two consecutive sixes before being bowled. Tristan Stubbs joined his captain in the middle and maintained the attacking intent. Pant got to his fifty with a six off Mohit over mid-wicket to get to his fifty in the 18th over. 

MASSIVE!

A roaring finish from the @DelhiCapitals courtesy Tristan Stubbs & Skipper Pant 💥

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

Sai Kishore, GT’s hero from their game in Mullanpur, was brought on to bowl his first over in the 19th. In a challenging situation, he conceded singles off the first two. However, Stubbs then brought out the long handle, smashing four, six, four and six – all in the ‘V’ from cover to mid-wicket. DC went past 190 with that. 

In the last over, Pant unleashed his fury as Mohit came to bowl. In an over that went for a total of 31 runs, Pant smashed a four and four sixes. The last three balls of the innings were sent out of the ground by Pant as DC took the momentum with them in the mid-innings.

GT’s run-chase started in similar fashion as Wriddhiman Saha hit the first ball for a four through cover. In the second over, Shubman Gill was dismissed by Anrich Nortje in an attempt to clear mid-off. Sai Sudharsan walked in and cut his first over just over the third-man fielder for a six. GT maintained that attacking intent in the next few overs as Saha and Sudharsan added 82 off 49 balls. 

Initially, it was Saha who was more attacking, and at one stage, he was batting on 26 off 10 balls. The highlight of the charge was a one-handed six over long-on off the bowling of Khaleel Ahmed. Sudharsan capitalised on an early reprieve as he played an array of classy shots to find boundaries. As the innings progressed, Saha then was intent on rotating strike as Sudharsan was finding the boundaries more consistently. 

Post the powerplay, DC introduced Axar and Kuldeep Yadav into the attack and it helped them build pressure. Kuldeep finally broke through when he dismissed Saha for 39 in the 10th over as the batter drive to go over cover but was caught by Axar. Azmatullah Omarzai scored a solitary run before he tried to hit Axar over mid-wicket but Fraser-McGurk took a good catch running in. 

First with the bat and now in the field 😎

Cannot keep Axar Patel out of action here in Delhi 🥳

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

David Miller joined Sudharsan, who was now past his fifty. DC’s spinners were backed well by Rasikh Salam and Mukesh Kumar, who varied their pace well during the middle-overs and helped increase the pressure. Sudharshan lost his wicket for 65 in the 13th over when he hit Salam to long-on. Shahrukh Khan started off with a six, but Salam got him in the next over when he inside-edged one to Pant. DC tightened the screws by bringing in Kuldeep, who then had Tewatia dismissed, caught behind by Pant. One must note Pant’s great efforts behind the stumps as well. 

Sharp with the gloves 🕸️ 😎

Captain Rishabh Pant continues to lead from the front 🤟

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— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

With 73 needed off the last four overs, the drama started. Miller hit 24 runs off Nortje, smashing three sixes in that over and getting past his fifty off only 21 balls. Mukesh returned to dismiss him in the next over when he holed out to square-leg. Interestingly, Rashid was dropped first ball and that could have proven costly. In the penultimate over, Sai Kishore too came to the party, smashing two sixes off Salam. Off the last ball, Salam had him bowled. 

Rashid Khan almost pulled off another impossible finish with the bat 💥@DelhiCapitals hold their nerves and clinch a crucial win 👏👏

Recap the match on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #DCvGT pic.twitter.com/xTvwwK23Gv

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 24, 2024

Mukesh ran in to bowl the last over with GT 19 runs away. Rashid hit fours through wide long-on and cover. Mukesh then bowled two dot balls. It was down to 11 off the last two. Rashid added to the drama by clearing long-off for a massive six. GT supporters would have remembered their game against SRH in 2022, when Rashid hit sixes off the last two balls to seal victory. However, Mukesh managed to keep Rashid quiet off the final delivery as it went to long-on on the bounce. DC breathed a sigh of relief.