Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel reflected on his team's one-run loss to the Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday, April 8. Having come within inches of the 211-run target, GT fell just one run short after getting restricted to 209/8 in Delhi.
Miller kept DC's hopes alive
David Miller was out there after returning from his retirement hurt. He had suffered injury to his finger while fielding and batting, and went off in the 13th over. He returned and nearly took the Capitals home. DC would have felt they were gone when KL Rahul was dismissed on 92 in the 17th over, but with 45 needed off 18 balls, Miller rejuvenated the hosts' hopes.
Miller and Vipraj Nigam took nine runs from the 18th over, and the two then deposited Mohammed Siraj for 23 runs in the 19th. With 13 needed off the last over, DC fancied their chances, but it was not to be for them. Vipraj hit a four on the first ball of the final over off Prasidh Krishna but got caught out on the next ball. Miller got strike and hit a six off the fourth delivery.
With two needed off the final two balls, Miller turned down the single on the fifth ball and then missed the last one as Kuldeep Yadav ran but fell short of his ground.
Axar says lost wickets at crucial intervals
Axar reflected on the loss, saying that DC should have been smarter in the chase as they lost wickets at crucial intervals. "Yeah, obviously the way we are playing, I think both teams played a very good, I think, a very good cricket. And yeah, I think, this type of close game, you can, you know, point out anything. So I think, yes, we played very good cricket.
"As I said earlier, in a close chase, in a close game, you can point out a lot of things. But I think in the chase, I think we could have played smarter. The crucial time at which the wickets fell, I think if that hadn't happened, we could have finished the chase earlier.
"(on KL Rahul) Yeah, obviously, he played a very good innings. And if you know, the way the power play was going, after that, he kept the momentum going. When the wickets were falling, he kept the momentum going from one side. He did not let the run-rate go down. So I think it was very good batting. I think we are playing good cricket and yes, we will finish in the next match," he said.
Miller remained unbeaten on 41, while Rahul scored 92 off 52 balls. Vipraj also contributed a bit with his 12 off 7. Pathum Nissanka scored 41 off 24 balls, but DC's star Sameer Rizvi was dismissed for a golden duck when Rashid Khan took two-in-two. In the end, DC fell just one run short.
