IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants, 40th Match - Who Said What?

Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans faced off in the 40th match of the ongoing IPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

After being put into bat, DC's innings didn't begin explosively, finding themselves at 44 for three in the sixth over. However, a remarkable partnership between the new No. 3, Axar Patel, and captain Rishabh Pant, saw them stabilise the innings with a substantial 113-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Pant then unleashed his beast mode in the death overs, propelling DC's total to a formidable 224 for four, a mark that seemed improbable when they were struggling to even reach 170 at one stage. Pant's unbeaten 88 off 43 balls, comprising five fours and eight sixes, was complemented by a quickfire cameo from Tristian Stubbs, who contributed 26 off seven balls.

In the chase, GT had a strong start, maintaining a brisk scoring rate early on, despite losing their captain Shubman Gill early for just 13. However, a solid partnership between Wriddhiman Saha and Sudarshan ensured GT stayed in contention, with both contributing 39 and 65 respectively.

David Miller's explosive innings of 55 off 23 balls injected sudden momentum into the game. A late cameo from Rashid Khan added to the excitement, but ultimately, Delhi Capitals held their nerve to secure a narrow four-run victory, despite some lacklustre bowling in the death overs. Kuldeep Yadav stood out for DC with an exceptional four-over spell, conceding just 29 runs and picking up two crucial wickets

Also Read - Most Wickets in IPL 2024 

Who Said What?

Losing skipper Shubman Gill said:

I think we played some really good cricket, disappointing to lose in the end, but great character shown by everyone. Great fight till the end and we never thought we were out of the game at any point. When you're re chasing 224, there's no point in talking about plans, just go out and score runs. I think impact player has a bit of a role (in making the matches high scoring), even if you lose extra wickets, extra cushion is there for the batters to keep going and it gives the license for the batters to keep going till the end. At one stage, we thought we would be able to restrict them to 200-210, but we gave away some extra runs in the last 2-3 overs. But this is a smallish ground, we spoke about the same when we went out to chase. Execution becomes very important, if there's a set batter or a finisher, you'll have to execute well. It's okay if there's something in the wicket, but on pitches like this, you'll have to make sure that you execute all your plans perfectly, be it the yorkers or the variations.

Winning skipper Rishabh Pant said:

Nortje was having a tough time. T20 is a funny game, after 14-15 overs the ball was coming on nicely. So we wanted to trust Rasikh, always trust someone who is bowling well in a game. I think it is about instincts as a captain, it will come off sometimes. Happy it worked today. Surely at 43/3, we wanted to just keep going and target their main spinners. If we get something, we will take it on and keep rotating the strike. Everyday that I'm in the middle, I feel better. Every hour on the field matters, I love being on the field. I try to give it my 100% and it takes some time sometimes. I think the first six in the match gives me the confidence in a game. The more time I spend in the centre, the better I feel.

Player of the Match Rishabh Pant said:

Happy to get the win. These two points are very important. Amazing game. When we went into the last over, knew it was going to be very tight. We had a plan, coach and captain wanted one over when Tewatia came into bat. Luckily it worked out. You have to read the batsmen and see what they are trying to do. We batted well, 225 is a good total. I didn’t want to try too much when I came into bowl. Just focused on my lines and lengths and saw what the batters were trying to do. (On Tewatia’s wicket) I bowled a few balls into the wicket to him, thought he might slog-sweep, it was a good plan from the keeper and we got the wicket.