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Live Report: Gill, Sudharsan take Gujarat Titans into playoffs with a ten-wicket win
By Hemant BrarGT win by ten wickets; GT, RCB and PBKS into playoffs
GT chase down 200 with an over to spare. It's only the second time in all T20 cricket that a team has chased down a target of 200 or more without losing a wicket. The win also takes GT into the playoffs. The third time they have done that in four seasons. And they are not the only ones to qualify, RCB and PBKS have also made it. That leaves DC, MI and LSG fighting for the remaining spot.
The winning hit, fittingly, was a six off Sai Sudharsan's bat. He finishes on 108 not out off 61, Gill 93 off 53.
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Hundred for Sai Sudharsan
Off 56 balls. And it comes up with a straight six off Kuldeep Yadav. Effortless. Just like this whole innings.
It has been as clinical a chase as you would see in the IPL. Both Gill and Sudharsan looking in complete control, not even a smidgen of panic.
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GT cruising
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With GT 154 for no loss after 15 overs, Mustafizur was DC's last hope. He came on for the 16th but Sai Sudharsan hit two fours off his first two balls to show GT's dominance. They have not broken a sweat and are still cruising. Only 35 needed from four overs.
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Fifty for Gill
He gets there off 33 balls, with his first four of the innings. It was a full toss from Chameera that he drilled straight back. Chameera was lucky that his head was not in the way. He then slipped a slower one but it ended up full and on the pads. Gill duly launched it over square leg for his fifth six.
Sudharsan ended the over with a four over covers.
GT 134/0 after 13. They need 66 from seven. Easy-peasy?
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Gill opens up
After eight overs, Gill was on 21 off 19. It was time he too started finding boundaries. On cue, Gill slog-swept Axar over deep midwicket for a six. In the next over, he stepped out to Kuldeep and smashed a flat six over the bowler's head.
Vipraj Nigam came to bowl the 11th over and erred on the fuller side. Gill stretched forward and creamed him over long-off. That was Gill's fourth six; he is yet to hit a four.
After 11 overs, Gill is on 44 off 29 with a strike rate of 151.72. GT are on 104 for no loss. They need 96 from the remaining nine.
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Sai Sudharsan survives a close appeal
DC need a wicket to stay in the game, and that reflects in them taking two reviews in two overs. The first was for a caught behind appeal down the leg side. Sai Sudharsan went for a pull and Porel looked confident he had edged it. DC went for the review, only for the UltraEdge to show the ball had brushed only the pad.
In the following over, Kuldeep beat Sai Sudharsan's inside edge with a googly. It looked close in real time but the on-field umpire did not raise his finger. Axar didn't want to burn the second review as well but Kuldeep convinced him to go for it. This time, the ball-tracking said it was the umpire's call on stumps. So it stayed not out.
In the next over, Sudharsan swept Axar for four to bring up his fifty off 30 balls.
GT 74/0 after 8.1
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DC bring in Chameera as Impact Player
Ashutosh Sharma goes out. Chameera concedes only three singles in his first over, making it 21 from the last three.
GT 52/0 after five. Not a bad start.
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GT off to a flying start
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GT rely a lot on their top three. Each of Gill, Sudharsan and Buttler has scored 500 runs this season at a strike rate of 150. And they are on the same path once again. Sudharsan, who came in as Impact Player for Prasidh, started by putting a down-the-leg-side delivery from Axar for four before Gill ended the over with a six.
In the next over, it was all Sudharsan. He also has the Orange Cap now, going past Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 523.
GT 31/0 after two
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DC finish on 199 for 3
Innings Delhi Capitals 199 for 3 (Rahul 112*, Porel 30, Arshad 1-7) vs Gujarat Titans
KL Rahul’s fifth IPL hundred took Delhi Capitals to 199 for 3 against Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Opening the innings, Rahul scored 112 not out off 65 balls, studded with 14 fours and four sixes, and became the first batter to score hundreds for three different IPL teams. Previously, he has scored hundreds for Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants.
DC had a slow start, though, after being sent in. Mohammed Siraj and Arshad Khan stuck to good length and gave little room with the new ball. In the first four overs, there were 15 dot balls. Faf du Plessis, who tried to break the shackles and charged at Arshad, was caught at mid-on by Siraj. He made 5 off ten balls.
After five overs, DC were 28 for 1. Rahul then injected momentum into the innings by hitting Kagiso Rabada for two sixes and a four in the last over of the powerplay. During that over, Rahul also completed 8000 runs in T20 cricket. Reaching there in 224 innings, he was the third-fastest, behind only Chris Gayle (213) and Babar Azam (218).
With a four off Rashid Khan, Rahul brought up his fifty, his fourth of the season and coming off 35 balls. As a result, DC reached 81 for 1 after ten overs.
R Sai Kishore had Abishek Porel caught behind for 30 off 19, after being hit for a six previous ball. That brought an end to a 90-run stand in 8.4 overs. But luck was on DC’s side, especially Rahul’s. In the 14th over, he got three fours off R Sai Kishore’s first three balls, all through luck. The first one was drilled back and went through Sai Kishore’s hands. Rabada misfielded the next and then an outside edge sped past short third.
Axar took apart Sai Kishore in the 16th over, a strange call on Shubman Gill’s behalf to give Sai Kishore that over given Axar’s excellent record against spin this season. That over went for 15. Prasidh Krishna returned in the next over and dismissed Axar with his second ball.
But Rahul and Stubbs added 48 off 22 balls in an unbroken stand to set GT a target of 200. With no dew so far, GT has their task cut out for them.
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KL Rahul 102*
He gets there with a pulled four off Prasidh Krishna, off 60 balls. Two balls before that, he had backed away to loft a hard length ball for a straight six.
Namooh Shah tells me Rahul is the first player to score an IPL hundred for three different teams. He had done so for Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals. In all, he has five IPL hundreds. Only Virat Kohli (8), Jos Buttler (7) and Chris Gayle (6) have more.
DC 183/3 after 19. Can they get to 200?
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GT stick with Sai Kishore and ...
... he goes for 11 in the 18th over. One six, five singles. Not bad. I guess GT would not mind. Sai Kishore finished with 4-0-47-1. Meanwhile, Rahul is on 92 off 57.
DC 169/3 after 18
Did Gill err there?
We have already mentioned Axar's excellent record against spin this season. Sai Kishore is an even better match-up for him as he turns the ball into his hitting arc. Prasidh, Siraj, Arshad and Rabada all have overs left but Gill went with Sai Kishore for the 16th over of the innings. Axar made sure he faced every single ball, hit a six, a four and took 15 in all.
Praisdh came back in the next over and dismissed Axar with his second ball. Axar tried to ramp him fine but found Sai Kishore.
DC 151/3 after 16.2
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Luck shines on Rahul
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Three balls, three fours. All through luck. The first one was drilled straight back at Sai Kishore. He couldn't close his hands fast enough and the ball ran away for four through his legs. The next was flicked wide of long-on. Rabada put in a slide but failed to flick the ball away. It was a regulation stop otherwise. The Sai Kishore produced an outside edge that sped away to the left of short third.
DC 126/2 after 14
Six and out
A left-arm spinner against a left-hand batter? Earlier in the day, we saw Harpreet Brar dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi against Rajasthan Royals. Now R Sai Kishore has done the same against Abishek Porel. Porel hit him for a straight six off the previous ball but Sai Kishore bowled the next delivery wide outside off. Porel went for the cut only to get a bottom edge that Buttler pouched.
Axar Patel is the new batter. He has an average of 32.80 and a strike rate of 190.69 against spin this IPL.
DC 106/2 after 12
Rahul's clean hits
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Rabada goes the distance
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After going for 17 in his first over, Rabada leaks in his second, 11th of the innings. He started with a poor delivery down the leg side that Abishek Porel helped over the fine-leg boundary. Then Rahul backed away and lofted him for a straight six.
Rabada's figures: 2-0-34-0.
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Rahul brings up fifty
Coming off 35 balls, and his fourth this IPL season. He gets there with a four off Rashid. Three balls later, he got a top edge on a slog sweep but luckily it evaded a diving short third and the ball ran away for four.
Rahul's innings has meant DC have scored 53 from the last five overs.
DC 81/1 after ten
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Rahul vs Rashid
96.9 KL Rahul's strike rate against Rashid Khan in T20s
Rashid Khan has given away only 64 runs off 66 balls against Rahul while dismissing him three times. It will be interesting to see Rahul's approach against him tonight.
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Rahul third-fastest to 8000
3 KL Rahul becomes the third-fastest by innings to complete 8000 runs in men's T20s. He got there in 224 innings. Only Chris Gayle (213) and Babar Azam (218) have been faster.
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Rahul takes Rabada on
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After five overs, DC were 28 for 1 but Rahul has injected some momentum into the innings. Kagiso Rabada, playing his first game in over a month, did not do too much wrong but Rahul still took 17 from the over. On the second ball of the over, he moved slightly across and played a pick-up shot over square leg for a six. Two balls later, Rabada offered room and Rahul slapped him over point. On the next ball, Rahul stood tall and launched it over the bowler's head, into the sightscreen.
DC 45/1 after six
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DC's opening troubles
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Siraj, Arshad handcuff DC
KL Rahul found two fours off Mohammed Siraj in the opening over. The first came because of sloppy fielding at deep third. Sherfane Rutherford fielded the ball but his foot touched the boundary cushion as he rolled over. Two balls later, KL Rahul produced a pristine back-foot punch through covers - a shot he would love to replicate during the Test series in England. But Arshad Khan bowled a tight over next up, with Siraj following suit in the third.
Faf du Plessis tried to break the shackles against Arshad. He tried coming down the track but the timing was not quite there. Arshad then got one to shape in. Du Plessis again gave charge, but this time the miscue was caught by Siraj at mid-on.
DC 16 for 1 after 3.2
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Playoffs scenes
In Jaipur, Punjab Kings have beaten Rajasthan Royals to take a big step towards the playoffs. And if GT win tonight, all three of RCB, PBKS and GT will be through to the playoffs, with DC, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants competing for the final spot.
Here are more details.
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Contrasting top 3s
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GT opt to chase; Rabada back
Toss Gujarat Titans chose to bowl vs Delhi Capitals
Gujarat Titans (GT) captain Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to chase against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Kagiso Rabada returned for GT, replacing Gerald Coetzee. This is Rabada’s first game after he went back home to serve a one-month ban for the use of a recreational drug.
DC made two changes. Mustafizur Rahman, who was in Sharjah last night and picked up 2 for 17 from four overs against UAE, replaced Mitchell Starc for DC. Vipraj Nigam came in for Madhav Tiwari.
“Definitely not easy to start all over again but good rest for our fast bowlers,” Gill said.
DC captain Axar Patel also wanted to bowl first given the dew. “We are thinking about only this game and not about the qualification,” he said.
The match is being played on a black-soil pitch. When bowling from the south end, one square boundary is 66 metres, the other 58 metres. The straight boundary is 71 metres
Delhi Capitals: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Abhishek Porel, 3 KL Rahul (wk), 4 Sameer Rizvi, 5 Axar Patel (capt), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Vipraj Nigam, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 T Natarajan
Impact Player options: Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Sediqullah Atal, T Vijay, Madhav Tiwari
Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Sherfane Rutherford, 4 Shahrukh Khan, 5 Rahul Tewatia, 6 Rashid Khan, 7 Kagiso Rabada, 8 Arshad Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Impact Player options: B Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Dasun Shanaka
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Greatest Test of the 21st century
While we wait for the toss, why not let us help pick the greatest Test of the 21st century? In the lead-up to the World Test Championship final, ESPNcricinfo, Star Sports and JioHotstar are inviting you to vote. Currently, we have two Chepauk epics – 2001 and 2008 competing against each other. In the other bracket, we have got India breaching the Gabba fortress face-to-face with Laxman’s Mohali heist.
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No Starc but what about Mustafizur?
DC resume their season without Mitchell Starc, who decided not to return once the league was suspended. In his place, DC have signed Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman. Last night Mustafizur was in Sharjah, where he took 2 for 17 from four overs against UAE. While that promises excellent form, it needs to be seen if he plays tonight.
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Playoffs hopes on the line
Hello, hello, hello. It's Delhi Capitals taking on Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in a game important for both teams' playoffs chances. GT are only one win away from the playoffs. If they win tonight, they will become the first team to qualify in IPL 2025 to make it to the playoffs. DC, who have two losses and a lucky no-result in their last three games, need a win to keep their fortunes in their own hands. Can they do so? While we wait for the toss, do take a look at Alagappan Muthu's preview.
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