Exciting IPL 2024 Match: Capitals Edge Titans in Nail-Biting Thriller
The IPL 2024 match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Titans (GT) witnessed a gripping showdown as Pant and Axar’s standout performances kept fans on the edge of their seats.
In pursuit of 225, Rashid almost drove the Titans home, but Mukesh maintained his composure to defend 19 off the final over.
Gujarat Titans 220 for 8 (Sai Sudharsan 65, Miller 55, Saha 39, Salam 3-44, Kuldeep 2-29) lost to Delhi Capitals 224 for 4 (Pant 88*, Axar 66, Warrier 3-15) by four runs.
Rashid Khan almost led Gujarat Titans (GT) to victory in a chase of 225 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in an iconic IPL 2024 finale. However, DC finished with a thrilling four-run triumph as Mukesh Kumar maintained composure to defend 19 off the final over.
Thanks to B Sai Sudharsan (65 in 39 balls) and David Miller (55 in 23), Rashid had a chance to pursue the lofty aim. They managed to keep GT well within touching distance of the increasing asking rate, and towards the finish, for a little instant, it seemed as though they had precisely timed their pursuit. But it was not to be, and GT made his second trip to Washington in as many days.
DC was asked to bat first and had to crawl out of a hole to record 224 for 4. They were down 44 for 3 after Sandeep Warrier’s 3 for 15 on the powerplay, but they rallied thanks to Rishabh Pant’s brilliant 43-ball 88 and Axar Patel’s 66 in 43 from No. 3. Subsequently, Axar claimed three catches and a wicket while providing strong ball support to Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 29) to make sure DC achieved a bare minimum for the evening.
For the fourth time in seven innings, Shubman Gill was dismissed early by Anrich Nortje, but it did not stop GT from moving quickly. Wriddhiman Saha skillfully cleared the infield to score 30 runs in his opening 12 balls, while Sudharsan took full advantage of an early break provided by Rasikh Salam’s bowling to storm off the starting wicket. They prevented Khaleel Ahmed and Nortje from settling in and amassed 67 in the powerplay.
Saha was eventually brought down by the spinners, though, as Kuldeep got rid of him for 35 in 29 balls. However, Sudharsan dominated the middle overs, slicing in front of and behind the square to hit seamers and spinners through the off side. In an effort to clear long-off, he occasionally made his way down the pitch before collapsing to Salam.
After Sudharsan was dismissed, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, and Rahul Tewatia all fell for single-digit scores; GT needed 73 in 24 balls, and it seemed like they had lost momentum. But in a 24-run 17th over, Miller struck Nortje for three sixes and a four, completing his own half-century off 21 balls, to offer them hope.
The oscillation persisted. At the moment, it appeared as though DC had done enough when Mukesh removed Miller in the eighteenth over. However, Salam let up eighteen runs in the nineteenth over, forcing Rashid and Mukesh to a shootout in the final over.
Despite giving up two fours off the first two balls and a six off the penultimate delivery, Mukesh maintained his composure to make the final ball land so full that Rashid was unable to attain the necessary elevation.
Once Warrier’s quick burst of three wickets had given GT the lead, they would have anticipated that Rashid, Noor Ahmad, and R Sai Kishore would choke DC throughout the middle overs. But all three were kept at bay by Axar and Pant.
They primarily targeted loose balls, half-trackers, and wide deliveries against Rashid, managing to squeeze 37 runs out of his four overs without a wicket. They attacked Noor, giving him an economy of 12 in three overs.
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Because of Pant and Axar’s dominance in their 113-run stand, Gill refrained from bringing on Sai Kishore, their last outing’s Player of the Match, until the 19th over out of concern for the pairing of two left-hand hitters against a left-arm spinner. After Axar was removed from the game, Sai Kishore bowled against right-hander Tristan Stubbs in the penultimate over of the innings. He was badly hit, conceding 22 runs at six, four, six, and four.
For the 20th, Gill went with Mohit Sharma’s expertise over Warrier’s, and Pant dominated that encounter. Pant whacked Mohit on the wrong side when he went full and wide. Pant hung behind and deposited Mohit over the leg side when he went sluggish or short. Additionally, Pant struck Mohit over midwicket after he mishandled his yorker. With one over remaining, Pant reached 88 runs, and his onslaught left Mohit with the lowest bowling stats in IPL history (0 for 73), with GT needing 225 runs to win.
Axar was pushed to the top three as the left-hand batter since David Warner was sitting out and DC did not want Pant to bat too soon. Initially, he hit Rashid for slog sweeps over the leg side, then blasted Noor through the covers off short balls.
Temporary employee Before Axar got his fifty with a boundary off Rashid in the fifteenth over, Shahrukh also suffered the same destiny. He was the main contributor in the 68-ball, 113-run partnership with Pant, and he barely fell on the boundary line in the 17th over when trying to hit Noor for his third consecutive six. His highest IPL score was 66.
Then, Axar was a baller in the field, backpedaling to hang onto a catch at mid-off in the second over and dismiss Gill. When Saha attempted to cut Kuldeep over cover, he was back in action, leaping high and extending his hands to scoop the catch. Afterwards, Axar had a second shot at redemption when he was at long-off late to take a difficult one, having dropped Sudharsan early in the powerplay.
In his three overs with the ball, Axar gave up just two fours and one six. Miller and Saha, who were both quite effective normally, were unable to stop him, and Sudharsan’s three boundary hits were the only reason he gave up 28 runs in three overs. Even though Axar removed Omarzai in the eleventh over, he was unable to secure the Player-of-the-Match title; his captain was awarded that honor instead.
