Ahmedabad, Apr 19 (UNI) Delhi Capitals rode on electric cameos from Karun Nair, Axar Patel and the belligerent Ashutosh Sharma to post a commanding 203/8 against Gujarat Titans, despite a terrific spell from Prasidh Krishna that brought the visitors back into the contest at various junctures.
On a warm Saturday evening at Narendra Modi Stadium, Delhi were off to a flier after being inserted to bat. Abishek Porel wasted no time, launching Mohammed Siraj and Arshad Khan to all corners. A swatted six over deep square, followed by an imperious driven four off a full ball set the tone. Though he departed for 18 (9), holing out to Siraj off a low full toss, the damage had been done. Porel's blitz had injected urgency into the innings.
Rahul and Nair then took charge, combining timing with clean power hitting. Rahul was particularly fluent, racing to 28 off 14 with four boundaries and a six, until he was undone by a peach from Prasidh — a fuller delivery that tailed in and trapped him plumb in front.
Krishna wasn’t done. After Nair entertained with a quickfire 31 off 18 — a knock featuring some audacious shots including a whipped six over backward square — the pacer came back to dismiss the right-hander with a short ball guided straight to Arshad Khan at deep third. Prasidh’s two early strikes kept DC from truly running away with it.
Delhi were 100/3 at the halfway stage, and the middle overs saw Axar and Tristan Stubbs steadying things. Axar survived a couple of reviews and a dropped chance by Rashid Khan, and made the most of it. He lofted the leggie for a clean six over long-off and was severe on Siraj’s length errors.
Stubbs played a breezy 31(21) before falling to Siraj, attempting a reverse scoop that ballooned to Prasidh at short third. Yet, at 146/4 in the 15th over, GT might have fancied limiting DC under 190.
The pocket-sized Ashutosh Sharma unleashed a whirlwind of strokes, reminiscent of Tim David's knock the previous evening. He flicked Prasidh for a towering six over fine leg, followed it with a clean lofted shot over mid-wicket, and even drilled Siraj through covers for four. A lap shot brought more pain for GT as Krishna, stationed at short fine leg, winced in pain and had to be attended to.
Despite losing Axar (39 off 32) to Krishna's third and then Vipraj Nigam to a golden duck the very next ball, Ashutosh wasn’t fazed. His fearless 37 off 19, peppered with three sixes and two boundaries, ensured Delhi went past the 200-mark.
Sai Kishore dismissed him in the final over, caught by substitute Lomror at long-on, but not before Sharma's heroics had tilted the innings Delhi’s way. The final act was fitting — Kuldeep Yadav swiping a wayward delivery to the deep square boundary to push the total to 203/8.
For Gujarat, Krishna was easily the standout, finishing with 4 wickets and nearly claiming a five-for. Siraj and Arshad Khan looked off-colour, while Rashid Khan endured another forgettable outing, going wicketless and squandering both reviews.
Now, with a total on the board, it’s over to Delhi’s bowlers. But for now, all eyes are on how Gujarat Titans respond to the Ashutosh surge.
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