Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)
The 44th game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 featured a thrilling clash between the defending champions Gujarat Titans and the David Warner-led Delhi Capitals at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 2.
As Delhi Capitals were limited to a low total of 130 runs in the first innings, the side led by David Warner looked to be plummeting towards yet another hefty defeat. However, through a brilliant display with the ball, Delhi managed to come out of the game as winners.
It was largely thanks to the spell of veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma that the side propelled itself to a win. Bowling four overs in the game, Ishant conceded 23 runs and took two wickets. Dismissing the likes of Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar.
Ishant’s last over of the game, where he defended 12 runs, quickly became the talk of the town. In vintage fashion, the 36-year-old conceded just six runs in the final over and even dismissed Shankar to propel the side to a brilliant victory.
Hardik Pandya’s resilience unable to propel Gujarat to victory.
Coming in to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to the worst of starts to the game as Phil Salt and skipper David Warner only managed to score 2 runs collectively. Through a brilliant bowling display, Gujarat dismantled the bowling attack of the visitors. However, through Aman Hakim Khan’s late push and short cameos by Axar Patel and Ripal Patel, Delhi managed to post 130 runs on the board.
Looking to chase the target down, the defending champions saw both of their openers dismissed quite early into the innings as well. However, skipper Hardik Pandya rose to the occasion and played a resilient knock. The ace Indian all-rounder amassed 59* runs in 53 deliveries and gave some much-needed hope to his side.
Despite his knock being in vain, Pandya played a true captain’s knock and brought his side very close to a win. However, in the end Delhi Capitals won the game by five runs.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Ishant Sharma’s spell:
Ishant Sharma supremacy 🛐 #GTvDC #DCvGT