DC vs GT, 44th Match at Ahmedabad, IPL, May 02 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary

11.08 pm Delhi's bowlers misfired on their yorkers an excessive amount of times down the stretch sending down a plethora of full tosses. But Gujarat could only capitalize on them twice with Tewatia v Nortje in the 19th over. Otherwise, Hardik and Rashid missed out on a number of juice grapefruit deliveries that should have disappeared over the boundary and that was the difference down the stretch. Shami's extraordinary new ball spell in the first innings goes to waste. Ricky Ponting is bursting out of his seat with joy seeing his charges come back to get a rare win.

Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya: "Obviously we would have taken 129 on any given day. Those last couple of wickets and at the end, Rahul got us back in the game. I tried my best but could not capitalize. It boils down to me. We were hoping to get a couple of big overs in the middle but at that point of time we could not get rhythm. It was new for Abhinav as well. It boils down to how I was not able to finish the game. Full marks to their bowlers as well and full ownership for my side where I could not finish the game. I should've. The wicket was good enough. I think it was more about the wicket pressure. I don't think the wicket played much role. It was a tad slower than what we are used to here. But they bowled really well. We lost a couple of early wickets where we had to take some time. We could not get the rhythm in the middle. Rahul brought us back into the game. Otherwise they were quite ahead. Intent had to be there. It's just that we lost a couple of wickets where if you keep losing wickets, it's difficult to keep the intent as well. I think it's just that this game I think we lost because I could not get my rhythm and we kept losing wickets at the start and that put us under pressure. We like to take it deep and get a couple of big overs which we could not get. [On Shami's spell] I feel sorry for him. If you bowl like that, then you get the team on 129, I think batters disappointed. I don't think the ball did a lot. I think it's just that Mohammed Shami's skill set which he has and he made the ball talk. Otherwise, I think for fast bowlers, the wicket did not have much assistance. But the way he bowled four on the trot and got us in the game, full credit. As I said, batters and particularly myself did not finish and we disappointed him. It's still a lot of games left. We'll take all the learnings from this game and rectify it a little better and move on. We have won a lot of games from the same position. We are still at the top of the table but we need to keep playing good cricket. Today, we did not finish the game."

Delhi Capitals bowler Ishant Sharma: "Even in the nets when I bowl with the new ball, I was practicing bowling wide yorkers. Today, I think the hard work pays off. I just backed myself and bowled wide yorkers. Coaches do that. There's a lot of time we spend in preparation, planning for certain batsmen which balls to bowl to them. It's all about backing yourself. I don't think about how many people are watching. It's all about executing those single balls every single time when you are on the field. So I was just backing myself to bowl this wide yorkers. [On facing Tewatia] I've played enough cricket with him so I was just having fun with him. I knew he was going to know what my short ball is, so I knew I had to double bluff him. Otherwise I knew he was the type of batsman who can finish the game for Gujarat. So I was double bluffing him and bowling the balls. [On defending 129] It is what it is. We don't really think about what target we have on the board. It's just about bowling your balls and executing your plans to the batsmen. From here on, we just carry the momentum and look to win one game at a time and hope for the best from the future."

Delhi Capitals captain David Warner: "Our bowlers were absolutely amazing. Our batters struggled early up. Credit to the way that Shami bowled, always presents a good seam and took early wickets. But a great anchor role with Aman and Ripal and it was a fantastic way to finish our innings. That was a nail-biter. We just keep finding ways to lose wickets in clumps. Another runout. I just don't know what's happening with our batting at the moment. We tried to have positive intent today. It didn't come off. But look, we won and got the two points. We wanted to come out and swing the ball and take early wickets. Khaleel was on the sideline last game. He was fit last game and unlucky to miss out. With Ishant forever getting younger and coming out and delivering, it's amazing to see him. How much did he hold his nerves there at the end, credit to him. I was nervous there when Tewatia was going off. He's renowned for that, he always hits the ball nice and clean towards the back end. Our best death bowler at the end has been Anrich. I passed the ball to him. Ishant was so clear with what he wanted to execute and he was able to do that."

Player of the Match is Mohammed Shami in a losing effort for his 4 for 11.

MJ: "Last 14 balls to Pandya no boundary and not an effort for boundary I expect a lot more than that from a captain." Well, he said repeatedly during his post-match interview that he shouldered all the blame for not getting his side across the line and that's a main reason why.

That'll do it for today's live coverage of this IPL encounter. Come back tomorrow for more live IPL action. Until then, take care!

The pendulum swings back sharply to Delhi after those two dot balls. ESPNcricinfo win probability now has them back at 87.77%

Dr Rahul : "How can you not have this man in the Indian T20 international team!! THE ICE MAN!!"

Tasmeem: "Not a single bouncer from Nortje with 4 fielders on the leg side. Should've gone for it first up against Tewatia."

The ESPNcricinfo win predictor has swung sharply, from 88% for Delhi after 18 overs to 82% for Gujarat just six balls later.

Vishal Poojary: "Time to sit back and enjoy the Iceman-Show."

AJ: "@shyam - Ishant also evokes the memory of that 30 run over thrashing he got from James Faulkner ."

Vishal: "The law of averages always catches up with you. GT won a match that they should have surely lost, against LSG. Now they are losing a match that should have been a comfortable cruising victory!!"

Ayush Falor: "Deserves Credit, for absolutely shutting all of us up"

Imen: "This is literally the situation Tewatia is in the side for ...lets see what happens"

Two badly misfired yorkers that wound up as full tosses to Hardik, and both wound up being singles instead of boundaries. Could be the difference in the end result down the stretch here. Delhi win probability now at 88.87% on the ESPNcricinfo win predictor.

Shyam: "Ishant Sharma should bowl the crucial 19th over nostalgic memories of what he did in champions trophy final against England"

Tewatia enters with 37 needed off 17 balls. The Gujarat player family members look pretty chilled out on the VIP balcony.

Manohar kept trying that shot all innings but rarely if ever middled one properly.

12.33 per over required now off the last three... ESPNcricinfo win probability now has Delhi at 67.81%.

Sher: "Kudos to Abhinav Manohar, he has played a good part in this partnership. " Striking at well under a run a ball after 32 deliveries in the middle? Hmmm... Good for which side?