GT openers did a mockery of the run chase against DC. They outplayed their bowlers completely as GT chased down 200 runs comfortably with one over left. DC bowlers had a day to forget in their lives. Let’s look at the reasons for DC’s defeat against the mighty GT.
Poor opening
Faf Du Plessis and KL Rahul opened the innings for DC. Faf struggled to time the ball and lost his wicket in the 4th over, bowled by Arshad Khan. He went for 5 runs from 9 balls, and the team score was 16 runs in 3.2 overs at that time.
The DC batters failed to use the initial overs in the powerplay. KL Rahul accelerated in the last over of the powerplay, bowled by Kagiso Rabada, and scored 17 runs in that over. DC finished the power play with 45 runs for the loss of 1 wicket.
A little bit more aggression in the initial overs would have added them 10 to 15 runs more. After the powerplay, Abhishek Porel and Rahul added just 10 runs in the next two overs. They took some time to settle after the field was spread. One of them, preferably Abhishek, should have scored some boundaries in those overs.
But these two batters compensated well and put DC in a good position after that. Abhishek Porel showed intent and scored 30 runs off 19 balls. KL Rahul controlled the whole innings and scored an unbeaten 112 runs off 65 balls. Axar Patel ( 25 off 16 ) and Tristan Stubbs ( 21* off 10 ) supported him well.
DC scored a good competitive total of 199/3 in 20 overs. They scored 63 runs for the loss of one wicket in the last 5 overs.
Poor bowling
DC’s bowling looked very ordinary without Mitchell Starc. There is no new ball bowler for them. Axar Patel started with the new ball followed by Natarajan. Natarajan was not known for bowling with the new ball and got bashed for 20 runs in his first over by Sai Sudarshan.
Other than Kuldeep, none of the bowlers asked questions for GT openers and weren’t able to create any chances for a wicket. Because of that they could able to counter attack Kuldeep as well.
As they didn’t have proper new ball bowlers to take the wickets of Sai and Gill, the spinners Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav along with Mustafizur Rahman and T Natarjan couldn’t create any impact against the well settled openers.
Batting brilliance from Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan
More than DC’s poor bowling, it was the batting brilliance from Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharhan. They both showed how dangerous they could be once they are settled in the crease. They didn’t play any high risk shots. Just pure timing of the ball.
Such batters are headache for bowlers as they will score runs at a high strike rate without any risks. The chances for dismissing them would be very less. They both compensated each other well.
Sai Sudarshan struggled slightly against Kuldeep Yadav initially. He even escaped from a LBW because of umpire’s call. Shubman Gill stood up and smashed boundaries against Kuldeep Yadav while Sai Sudarshan took care of attacking other bowlers.
Every boundaries they scored were from the middle of the bat, They were not any top edge six above the keeper or any miss timed shots. With their openers in red hot form and with a good bowling line-up, GT made a statement that they are tough competitors in the playoffs.
Also Read:Â DC vs GT: When Titans Roared, and Delhi Drowned