‘Best knuckle ball wicket I’ve ever seen’ – Dale Steyn super impressed with Ishant Sharma's stunning delivery to outfox Vijay Shankar

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) fast bowling coach Dale Steyn lavished praise on seasoned Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Ishant Sharma after claiming the wicket of Vijay Shankar during the clash against Gujarat Titans. Notably, David Warner and Co. registered their third win of the IPL 2023 season after defending a miniscule total against the reigning champions.

Courtesy of a terrific bowling performance by the Titans, DC were restricted to a meagre 130 runs in the first innings. Mohammed Shami returned a four-wicket haul whereas Mohit Sharma got two under his belt. In response, Delhi struck early as Gujarat were reduced to 18/2 in under four overs of the chase.

In the midst of the of the second innings, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma extended Delhi’s domination in the chase as he sent Vijay Shankar packing with an impressive delivery. Ishant bowled a knuckle ball to perfection which completely outfoxed the batter and crashed into the middle and off stump.

Dale Steyn@DaleSteyn62

Okay, Ishant just bowled the best knuckle ball wicket I’ve ever seen!

09:51 PM · May 02, 2023

35.2K2.3K

IndianPremierLeague@IPL

Deception at its best! 👊🏻 What a ball that from @ImIshant 🔥🔥 #GT have lost four wickets now and this is turning out to be a tricky chase! Follow the match ▶️ bit.ly/TATAIPL-2023-44 #TATAIPL | #GTvDC

10:02 PM · May 02, 2023

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In doing so, even SRH fast bowling coach Dale Steyn too could not stop himself but heaped massive praise on the DC pacer. 

Credit to Ishant for holding his nerves: David Warner

Notably, it was Rahul Tewatia, who came down the order for Gujarat and helped pump in momentum with the maximums. In seven balls, the batter scored 20 runs and kept his side steady to earn a potential win. However, DC skipper David Warner revealed that Ishant’s experience paid dividends as he proved his mettle when the match came down to the wire.

The DC pacer bowled a slower-length ball upon which Tewatia tried to muscle it over the leg side but holed out to Rilee Rossouw inside the ring at extra cover. With this, DC won the contest narrowly by five runs as Ishant got two wickets to his name. 

“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. I passed the ball to him (Ishant). He was so clear with what he wanted to execute and he was able to do that,” Warner said during the post-match presentation.