DC vs GT, IPL 2023 Highlights: Miller and Sai Sudharsan power Gujarat to victory

This has been a clinical run chase from the visitors. The game looked like it was drifting away from them for a brief while however, David Miller and Sai Sudharshan at the end took care of the chase. Delhi Capitals bowlers in midst of a few good deliveries slipped in a few bad ones which never let the pressure build on the Titans. Kuldeep Yadav did not finish off his spell which is something to ponder upon for the Capitals and their tactics to preserve him until Miller comes. This is the second loss for the capitals in two games now and two wins in two for the Gujarat Titans. 

Sudarshan score a brilliant half-century. This has been high-class batting from the left-hander. He anchored the innings when needed and upped the ante when required. GT looks like they are two in two games now. This has been a clinical run chase from GT showing why they are the defending champions. GT 151/4 after 17 overs 

David Miller took a liking to the pace of Mukesh Kumar. He punished the medium pacer and pulled the game towards Gujarat Titans. The equation now heavily is in favour of GT. Kuldeep Yadav has still one over left. David Warner and his side now need to pick up a cluster of wickets here to give themselves a chance. GT 138/4 after 16.1 overs 

The two overs from Kuldeep Yadav have been preserved for David Miller. He picked his wicket almost off the first ball of his spell. However, Miller challenged the LBW decision which was given out on-field. This has been excellent over from Kuldeep he is asking the batters a lot of questions. The ideal thing to do might be to see him through and take the other bowlers on. GT 117/4 after 15 overs 

Marsh picked Vijay Shankar. Much needed breakthrough for the Delhi Capitals. Shankar trying to play the ball in the fine-leg region misses the cutter from Marsh and is trapped in front of the stumps. He was not given out initially on field however Warner decided to send the decision upstairs which bore fruits for the Capitals.  GT 107/4 after 13.2 overs 

David Warner has gone back to his strike bowlers in the back-to-back overs hoping for a breakthrough. However, neither could deliver what the skipper wanted. The game seems to slip away from Delhi Capitals at the moment. This has been a brilliant partnership from Vijay Shankar and Sai Sudharshan when GT looked in a bit of trouble. The hard work is done all the duo needs to do is finish of this game. GT 106/3 after 13 overs 

Sriram Veera: t was a cute gesture from Mitch Marsh after being spanked for a four by Vijay Shankar. Marsh had opted for a scrambled-ball, a shortish ball that sat up on a pitch where the ball has otherwise skidded - the wrong choice of delivery, no doubt- and Shankar biffed it easily to midwicket boundary. On his way back to top of his mark, Marsh had a word with his captain David Warner, and boxed his own head with his right fist. GT 101/3 after 12 overs 

The left-arm seamer has been brought into the attack to provide a breakthrough as the Sudarshan and Shankar partnership is turning ominous. However, Khaleel bowled a few loose ones giving away easy runs. GT seems to be slightly ahead in this game for now. The Capitals needs to pick a wicket in the next few deliveries or things may get tricky later on. GT 100/3 after 11.5 overs 

David Warner has gone back to Mitchell Marsh for his second over. He bowled a decent over apart from one poor ball which was punished by Vijay Shankar for a boundary. This games still seems to be on a knife edge don't go anywhere folks we might be having an exciting finish in our hands. GT 91/3 after 11 overs 

Sandip G: Hands on hips, blowing his cheeks, Khaleel Ahmed looked distraught after Wriddhiman Saha smeared him for a six, the last ball of a 14-run first over. Looking down and shaking his head, he staggered to deep fine-leg and seemed content in his anonymity. He was taken off and then brought back in the fifth over. His misery dragged on, as Sai Sudharsan greeted him with a sumptuous flick. Ahmed stared pensively into the skies. But he came back strongly, bowling three straight dots and easing a single off the fifth. Then came his moment of benediction, the moment he seemed to be waiting for all through the night. He decided to bowl around the stumps at Hardik Pandya and produced a ripper that angled in and shaped away just enough to graze Pandya’s outside edge. It was the perfect length, line and degree of movement. Pandya stood confounded, but in the Delhi Capitals’ dugout coach Ricky Ponting was celebrating maniacally. Khaleel though was poised—he is more expressive in his moments of agony than joy. GT 83/3 after 10 overs 

David Warner has brought Mukesh Kumar back into the attack. Changes of ends for the right arm seamer. He is looking to bowl a few cutters and mix up with an odd-length ball. The wicket seems like it has slowed down a touch and the batters are struggling to time. There seems to be no dew on the outfield which is a good sign for the Delhi Capitals bowlers.  GT 74/3 after 9 overs 

Sriram Veera: Once Gujarat Titans’ Alzarri Joseph had set up the pace menu for the night with his vicious bouncers, all eyes were on Delhi Capitals’s Anrich Nortje in the chase. He didn’t disappoint. First he knocked down Wriddhiman Saha with a  cracking nipbacker that had the pace and the sharp movement to break through the defences. Then he took down Shubman Gill with a 148-kmph skidding screamer. Just a short while back, Gill had gestured toward the point fielder how the ball was skidding on this surface. Not that knowledge helped him against Nortje as the short-of-length skidder rushed at him so quickly that he couldn’t get his bat in line in time. Boom. GT 66/3 after 8 overs

Kuldeep Yadav and Abishek Porell felt they have got Sai Sudharashan and reviewed the decision which was given not out on-field. The ultra edge too showed nothing. The chinaman bowler has started well here. The batters looked a bit puzzled by his variations his four overs will be crucial for Delhi Capitals today if they have to take two points from this game. GT 66/3 after 8 overs

David Warner has brought Mitchell Marsh into the attack. It might not be a bad ploy by the skipper on the surface which has assisted the seamers more than the spinners. Sudarshan and Shankar looked comfortable against him. Nothing expansive needed from the batting duo just build a partnership and set a platform for the likes of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia. GT 62/3 after 7 overs

Khaleel Ahmed picks up Hardik Pandya. Right on the queue the left-arm bowler bowls a peach of a delivery to Pandya. The ball pitches on the middle stumps and just moves a touch away from the batter. It was an unplayable delivery. GT is now in a bit of a pickle here. They are using their impact sub in Vijay Shankar. GT 54/3 after 6 overs

Khaleel Ahmed has not found his rhythm yet today. He was decent in the first game however, today he did not turn up so far. The Capitals would be hoping for the other bowlers to step-up. Mukesh Kumar has been decent. Nortje has been exceptional but bowled a few loose ones. David Warner might be looking to bring in Kuldeep Yadav after the powerplay. GT 54/2 after 5.5 overs

Anrich Nortje despite bowling well has bowled a couple of no-balls which has ruined his figures a little. Sai Sudarshan looks in excellent touch. In the first game against Chennai Super Kings, he had a start but could not convert. GT needs Hardik Pandya and Sudarshan to build a substantial partnership here which can take them home. GT 49/2 after 5 overs

Anrich Nortje picks up Shubman Gill with 149 KPH delivery. The South African seamer bowls another Jaffer. The ball keeps a touch low and the pace of Nortje does the rest. Gill was cramped for the room and did not have enough time to adjust. This is a massive wicket for the Capitals and they are right back in the game. GT 36/2 after 5.1 overs

Gujarat Titans have been quick off the blocks chasing a mediocre total not allowing the likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar to settle in. However, Anrich Nortje with his raw pace cleaned Saha. Delhi Capitals need more wickets to stay in the game or with the form Shubman Gill has been in recent times it may be Gujarat's game. GT 30/1 after 3 overs

Anrich Nortje is now introduced in the attack and he strikes straightaway!!!! The fiery quick lights up the Delhi Capitals crowd as Saha misses the ball and his stumps are rattled!!! What an impact!! GT 22/1 after 2.1 overs

Mukesh Kumar in to bowl the second over and Gill hits his first ball for a boundary. You can't bowl to him there. After two dots, Gill just places the 4th ball through the covers for four more!!! Straight bat and he just places it. GT 22/0 after 2 overs

Saha and Shubman Gill are at the crease. Saha is on strike. Impact player Khaleel Ahmed,l who is on for Sarfaraz Khan, will open the attack. Starts off with a swinger as Saha misses his swing. The next ball is a dot while the 3rd is placed through the cover point for the first four of the innings. The next ball is played down the ground for another boundary. Nicely done. Ends the over will a pull shot for a maximum. GT 14/0 after 1 over

Courtesy of innings from Axar Patel at the end Delhi have reached the score they have. If not for the contributions from Warner, Sarfaraz and Axar the Capitals would have been in a lot of trouble. The wickets seem to be not so good for batting however, the judgment can be passed only after two teams have batted on it. Alzarri Joseph with his raw pace and Rashid Khan with his magic troubled the DC batters. The home side too has similar weapons with the likes of Anrich Nortje and Kuldeep Yadav. This may not be the easiest of chases for GT folks. Dont go anywhere stay with us for the second half

How often do you spot a short-leg fielder in a T20s? That too for fast-bowlers. A lot of variables have to align. The chief length of the bowler, which has to be short or short-of-length; the line, which has to be into the body, the nature of the pitch, which has to be on the bouncier side, and importantly, the pace of the bowler. You can’t station a short-leg if the bowler is peddling military-medium. But here, Alzarri Joseph was bowling as hostilely as some of his Antiguan predecessors. He was purchasing bounce, clocking high pace (an average of 144kph) and targeting the ribs and chests of batsmen. So Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya stationed a short-leg, though a little deeper than when a spinner bowls, for much of his four red-hot overs. The short-leg was hardly in the game, but the very sight was rare and intimidating. After 19.1 overs Delhi Capitals are 156/7

Rashid Khan picks up Aman Khan. The youngster trying to up the ante perishes. Rashid Khan continues to pick wickets not allowing the Delhi Capitals to get the required momentum. Axar Patel is still batting at one end Kuldeep Yadav who walked into the middle would be looking to keep Axar on strike as much as possible. After 18.4 overs Delhi Capitals are 148/7

Axar Patel is hitting a few hefty blows here. He is providing the finishing touch which Delhi Capitals has been looking for. Amam Khan has walked into the middle replacing Sarfaraz Khan. He too has a reputation for being a big hitter in the domestic circuit. Delhi should be looking to get anything over 170 runs which may be defendable on this surface. After 18.3 overs Delhi Capitals are 148/6

Rashid Khan picks up Sarfaraz Khan. The Delhi wicket-keeper batter trying to slog sweep the ball gets caught on the square-leg boundary by Joshua Little. It has been an inning of start and stop for the youngster. Whenever he looked to open up a wicket from the other end fell. However, he has been the glue that kept DC from getting bowled out. After 16.1 overs Delhi Capitals are 130/6

Little has bowled well so far in this game. He bowled tight lines and lengths and restricted the batters to score off him with ease. Delhi Capitals too have their fair share of quick bowlers in Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar and would be looking to exploit the conditions. But for that first they have to score a decent total on this surface anything over 160-170 might be defendable on this surface. After 16 overs Delhi Capitals are 126/5

Sarfaraz Khan continues to go on his merry way. He has batted well so far and is continuing to do so. He is holding an end up so that the batters from the other ends can take the bowling on. Axar Patel so far has made his intentions clear to anything which is not on the money the left-hander has punished. The Capitals would be looking to knock the ball around for a couple more overs and then slam the bowlers in the death overs. After 15 overs Delhi Capitals are 121/5

Sandip G: Wriddhiman Saha is 38, would turn 39 later this year. Streaks of silver dot his sideburns and hair, but his elasticity seems un-ravaged by time. A fiery Alzarri Joseph ball seared off Sarfaraz Khan’s helmet and ballooned in the air. Saha was unsure whether it had come off the bat or the helmet or some other part of the body. But he dashed off and leapt full-stretch. The ball just about evaded him. He was distraught and punched the turf. Later, the replays showed there was no bat. But a flying Saha is quite a sight, arms stretched, torso parallel to the ground and arched like a reverse rainbow, legs apart in perfect synchronisation like the legs of a scissor. Poor Saha, an erratic Mohammad Shami kept testing his age and reflexes with the new ball, unable to control the swing and sliding down the ground. He almost took a leg-side blinder of David Warner, which evaded his glove by a couple of inches. There were few glory moments to take from the day, but even at 38, Saha’s reflexes remain un-ravaged by time. After 13.4 overs Delhi Capitals are 108/5

Sriram Veera: As soon as he upper cut Alzarri Joseph for a six over third man, Abhishek Porel would have known to watch out for the next ball. Joseph wasn’t going to go for any bluff or anything silly as he already possesses the best weapon possible: the hot spicy bouncer to the head. By the time Porel began his downward bat swing, the ball had crashed right onto the helmet grill. The physio and team-mates rushed in, but Porel did his best to pull himself together and not betray any untoward emotion. Meanwhile, Joseph stood chatting and laughing with Shami. The helmet was changed and Porel continued to bat. He might have been nailed by the bouncer, but the upper cut was spunky: he had lifted his front leg in the air and had gone for it. Next over, Yash Dayal tried a shortish ball to Porel; it was thrown back from deep midwicket stands. After 13 overs Delhi Capitals are 107/5

Rashid Khan picks up Abhishek Porell. The leg spinner does it again. Porell trying to work the ball on the leg-side could not read the one turning away from him and gets bowled. Excellent move from Hardik Pandya right bowling change at the right time. Axar Patel walks into the middle and he is been greeted with close infielders. After 12.1 overs Delhi Capitals are 101/5

Hardik Pandya has brought in Yash Dayal here. Still no sign of spin. This has been an interesting tactic from Pandya not to bowl a single over of spin so far. Maybe the GT skipper worried about the shorter boundaries on this ground. At the moment Porell and Sarfaraz are looking good and building a handy partnership. After 12 overs Delhi Capitals are 100/4 

Sriram Veera: Alzarri Joseph served up a snorter at Rilee Rossouw that kicked up at his chest. A startled Rossouw stabbed at it so unconvincingly that it wasn’t a surprise that the ball lobbed towards backward point where Rahul Tewatia took a good lunging catch. A ball before David Warner dragged a ball angling across him on to the stumps. But the best was reserved for the last ball of the over. Unsurprisingly the pacy Joseph went for a cracking bouncer at Sarfaraz Khan, who has already been done in by a Mark Wood short ball in the previous game. Sarfaraz again looked ungainly even as he went for a hook. Out of balance, out of time, it popped off his helmet on the leg side behind the stumps and Wriddhiman Saha was almost there rushing in for a lunging ‘catch’ though replays didn’t show any edge. That ball, though, would have the tongues wagging against Sarfaraz. After 10.5 overs Delhi Capitals are 87/4

Alzari Joseph is now brought back to his third over. This is excellent captaincy from Hardik Pandya keeping the bowler going who looked in a good rhythm. However, once again how long can he not bowl Rashid Khan? This might be the last over for Joseph in this spell and Pandya might be looking to change things from either bowling ends. After 10.5 overs Delhi Capitals are 87/4

Hardik is still bowling with seamers and has not brought in Rashid Khan yet. This might be a good time to bring in the leg spinner as both Sarfaraz and Porell are not experienced at the IPL stage and would have hardly played against Rashid Khan. This has been again a clinical bowling performance from the Gujarat Titans so far. After 10 overs Delhi Capitals are 78/4

Rilee Rossouw departs courtesy of a stunner from Rahul Tewatia. Debutant Abhishek Porell comes to face the hattrick ball however, defends shakily denying the chance of the hattrick. It has been an excellent over from Joseph. He bowled with shear pace troubling the batters. This is the second time in two games where Delhi Capitals are struggling against extreme pace. After 8.3 overs Delhi Capitals are 67/4

Alzari Joseph picks up David Warner. The Delhi Capitals skippers trying to cut the ball chops one onto the stumps. He seems to be gutted after his dismissal. The left-hander did all the hard work and looked like getting a big score but Joseph denies it. Another wicket falls for Delhi just when things looked like they were settling down. After 8.1 overs Delhi Capitals are 67/3

Sarfaraz Khan's form in domestic cricket has been mind-boggling. However, he has never been able to stamp his authority on the IPL. In the absence of Rishabh Pant for a full season this is a golden opportunity for the youngster to impress the Indian selectors both with the bat and gloves behind the stumps. As of now he has done well rotating the strike and take his time hopefully he will continue to play this way for a while and explode from there. After 8 overs Delhi Capitals are 67/2

After having trouble initially with the movement. David Warner has now started to take the attack on to the opposition. He is trying to play a lot more shots now. Hardik Pandya is looking to continue with the seamers after the Powerplay. It will be interesting to see when he will bring in Rashid Khan. His four overs will be key in this inning. After 7.2 overs Delhi Capitals are 64/2

Rishabh Pant watching Delhi vs Gujarat match from stadium. pic.twitter.com/NkSsNOaztt

— Rishabh Pant FC (@RishabhPant17FC) April 4, 2023

Hardik Pandya has brought himself on. He took the new ball against Chennai Super Kings in the first game however, he is coming as the first change today. Warner is slowly starting to look good after his initial struggles against Mohammad Shami. DC needs to build a partnership here and look to score around 180 runs to give themselves a chance. After 6 overs Delhi Capitals are 52/2

Sriram Veera: Once again that backfoot has done him in, it doesn’t move at all” Sunil Gavaskar’s assessment on Prithvi Shaw came as swiftly as Shaw’s dismissal was. It was a Shami shortish ball outside off, shaping away ever so slightly, and Shaw tried to fetch-pull it but ended up skying it tamely to mid-on. Gavaskar’s quick post-mortem was validated by the replays. Shaw’s back foot didn’t go back and across or allowed for any weight transfer or swivelling. Shaw might have expected Shami to test with an nip-backer as that has been his nemesis for long now, but Shami went the other way. In an earlier over too he had attempted the shortish ball that moved away but offered too much width. This time it was closer and Shaw's goose was cooked. After 5 overs Delhi Capitals are 42/2

Mohammad Shami picks up Mitchell Marsh. The Aussie trying to drive the ball on the up chops one onto the stumps. For all the movement Shami generated in the first over he started picking wickets in his last few balls as he found the right line and length for the surface. This has been a mixed start for the Capitals. The need off the hour is partnership for the hosts. After 4.2 overs Delhi Capitals are 37/2

Joshua Little has looked in excellent rhythm today compared to his first game. He bowled decent lines and lengths so far and kept Warner and Mitchell Marsh quiet. The left-arm seamer has an excellent seam position and has the ability to move the ball both ways. GT coach Ashish Nehra in the past has expressed admiration for the Irish. After 4 overs Delhi Capitals are 33/1

Mohammad Shami picks up Prithvi Shaw. The aggressive right-hander after playing a couple of sumptuous shots tried to pull a short delivery from the Indian bowler and ended up giving a simple catch to Alzari Joseph. This game despite being just three overs old has produced a lot of action so far.  After 2.4 overs Delhi Capitals are 29/1

The Delhi Capitals skipper has not looked comfortable. He is struggling to get the bat on the bowl. Even in the first game against LSG, he had trouble timing the ball. Irrespective of his performances for Australia Warner has always performed well in the IPL. But the last two games may be showing the first indications of his waning powers. After 2 overs Delhi Capitals are 20/0

Mohammad Shami is getting a lot of movement from the surface. He is making David Warner jump in the crease. Warner is not looking comfortable whatsoever facing this. Wridhiman Saha who is known to be one of the best keepers in the country is struggling to take the ball behind the stumps with the seam movement Shami is generating. After 1 over Delhi Capitals are 11/0

Prithvi Shaw and David Warner walk into the middle. It is one of the most explosive opening combinations in the IPL. Mohammad Shami has the new ball in hand. Who better to exploit the conditions with the new ball than Shami who has an excellent seam position. He will exploit even a little swing that is on offer from the surface.

Gujarat Titans Subs: Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Abhinav Manohar

Delhi Capitals Subs: Lalit Yadav, Rovman Powell, Chetan Sakariya, Manish Pandey, Khaleel Ahmed

In 51 deliveries bowled by Axar Patel to Shubman Gill in the Indian Premier League, the spinner has never managed to dismiss the batter once and has conceded 72 runs

Khaleel Ahmed on the other hand has dismissed Hardik Pandya twice in 8 balls in the small sample size and conceded only 8 runs

Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner reckons that his side needs to bat well, bowl well and field well to win the game. It may sound simple, but, is the most difficult thing to do on the field. Will his side respond to his call or will Hardik's Gujarat continue their good run in IPL will have to wait and see.

Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph

Prithvi Shaw, David Warner(c), Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Sarfaraz Khan(w), Axar Patel, Abishek Porel, Kuldeep Yadav, Aman Hakim Khan, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar

Looks like a nice wicket. Have to come out with positive intent and post a good total. It's awesome. What a good turnout it is tonight. Hopefully we can make it our fortress. Anrich and Porel come in. Rovman misses out. It's a long tournament, going to be a few harsh calls.

Going to bowl first. Not sure how the wicket is going to play. Obviously losing Kane - we're gutted. Especially for him. As a team we can manage, but gutted for him. Miller comes in for Kane. Sai Sudharsan comes in for Vijay. Not much talking in our team. Just about keeping things simple and focusing on controllables. Pitch looks fantastic. Dew might kick in later.

David Miller is in for Kane Williamson and Sai Sudarshan is in for Vijay Shankar for Gujarat Titans. Anrich Nortje and debutant Abhishek Porel come in and Rovman Powell misses out for Delhi Capitals.

?? Excited to be in Delhi, with Dilli ?

?| We caught up with Nortje as he joins the band of ?? for #IPL2023 ?#YehHaiNayiDilli | @AnrichNortje02 pic.twitter.com/r60l55AMgQ

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 3, 2023

David Miller has returned from South Africa and is available for selection. This is a huge boost for GT as he has been in scintillating form for the last couple of years. He played a major role last season in GT winning the league. However, can he repeat the feat this season or is it just a one-season thing we will know in the days to come?