Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals: Gujarat Titans maintains their winning streak
Two games for the day, and both the games were won by the side batting first. Gujarat Titans registered their second consecutive win by defeating Delhi Capitals by 14 runs. A fantastic defense by the Titans.
Lockie Ferguson on fireShubman Gill's 84 to the rescue
Delhi Captains opted to bowl first on winning the toss. They got a good start with the ball as Mustafizur Rahman took Matthew Wade in the first over for 1 run. Vijay Shankar, too got dismissed early for 13 runs. Captain Hardik Pandya built a 65-run partnership with Shubham Gill, but the former got out, scoring 31. Shubman Gill played a swashbuckling blinder at top order to make 84 runs and helped the team post the target of 171 runs. The total was competitive enough but didn't look to be a match-winning score.
Lockie Ferguson's 4 wickets frayed Delhi Capital's batsman
Delhi Capitals had a shaky start as Prithvi Shaw, and Tim Seifert lost their wickets in the initial overs as both the openers. Mandeep Singh, too failed to build big as a top-order batter. And it was here when the Gujarat Titans seemed to have pocketed an easy win in today's match. But skipper Rishabh Pant and Lalit Yadav gave the team the opening partnership knock that was much needed. They took a breezy stand, chasing down the total comfortably with a reducing run rate. And just then, a run-out of Lalit Yadav gave Gujarat Titans a break that they were looking for. Lockie Ferguson then turned into the game-changer who took two wickets in the 15th over and finished his four-for. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami and Lockie Ferguson, under the able-captaincy of Hardik Pandya, took wickets at regular intervals to make the chase difficult for the opposition. At the end of 20 overs, Delhi could chase only 159 runs at the loss of 9 wickets.
After losing the match, Delhi Capitals' skipper Rishabh Pant said, "I think according to the wicket, the total was not so big. We could have batted well, especially in the middle overs. Every match, it's going to be hard for us to come back after losing so many wickets. [Ponting?] I think he's been amazing since day one. When you're on the losing side, you feel heartbroken. But we can improve in the next match."
Delhi must be feeling bad about their casual approach. This was a match that the team could have easily won, especially after getting one stable partnership. But they failed to capitalise on it. Gujarat Titans became only the second after Rajasthan Royals to have defended total defying dew conditions with this win.
Delhi Capital will be looking forward to rectifying their mistakes from this match against Lucknow Super Giants on 7th April. Gujrat Titans are already having a great time and would look to continue their winning streak against Punjab Kings on 8th April.