Preview: DC vs. GT: Pant’s Delhi Sees to Get Over SRH Trauma Against Unreliable Gujarat at Kotla

The Delhi Capitals, still trying to get over their crushing loss to the Sunrisers, will hope for some relief on Wednesday when they host the patchy Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. In the battle for the playoffs, Delhi is almost out of gas. All they can do is give it their all in the last six rounds, treating them as elimination matches and hope for a miracle in the event that other contenders fall.

GT was the only team Delhi defeated this season. Out of the continuous high-scoring run fest, in which 181 runs were scored in different innings, it was the only game. That day, Delhi’s bowlers—particularly their pacers—had the upper hand as DC destroyed Gujarat in their own home.

However, the narrative has evolved significantly since then. Gujarat regained the lost ground and outmuscled Punjab to earn two crucial points and take sixth place. Hyderabad, on the other hand, crushed Delhi and made them fight to finish in the bottom three.

Delhi finds itself on a knife-edge as Gujarat looks to exact retribution for their humiliation in Ahmedabad, and Rishabh Pant’s leadership abilities will come under close examination.

What: Delhi Capitals vs. Gujarat Titans, IPL 2024 Match 32

Where: New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium

When: Wednesday, April 23

Time: Play begins at 19:30, toss at 19:00.

News about the Delhi Capitals team

Recovering from trauma requires time. In DC’s case, it was a very terrifying homecoming. This season, SRH has already been operating in a separate universe, and the Delhi bowlers allowed them to embrace that. With the exception of Axar Patel, every bowler let up more than ten runs per over, allowing Hyderabad to record the fourth-highest total in IPL history.

Before they could even consider what went wrong in the last game, coach Ricky Ponting acknowledged that it was beyond their control. A squad cannot lose a game the same manner they lost the night before, he said.

“We were prepared for it. We prepared for it. But I believe that many of those initiatives were abandoned when we were under the greatest amount of strain. At the news conference before the game, Ponting said, “And it appeared like we all became a little bit confused with what we were trying to do.”

“We cannot afford to begin cricket matches in that manner. Your execution can’t be that off by much. Because they will force you to play if you are competing against skilled gamers. And that’s precisely what occurred last night,” he said.

However, the bowlers cannot win the match by themselves. In order to keep the club afloat, the hitters must perform, and this is when the openers must shine. It has been a peculiar scenario for Delhi. When Prithvi Shaw joined David Warner again, they clicked brilliantly at first, but their charm quickly wore off. Their inability to succeed puts further strain on middle-order, which is limited to Rishabh Pant.

It’s true that DC found Jake Fraser McGurg, but he’s still learning. Coach Ponting agrees as well.

Fraser McGurk still has a great deal of learning ahead of him. He is not a completed product, and the Indian Premier League is the best place to learn. While we’re not preventing him from pursuing his goals, we are also attempting to teach him a few things as he goes,” Ponting said.

Delhi’s task is so straightforward: act now and provide before it’s too late.

Team News: Shubman Gill’s IPL 2024 experience with the Gujarat Titans has been a learning curve. The captain must balance leading the squad and providing an opening performance, particularly with the T20 World Cup selection fast approaching. David Miller responded subtly to a question from CricketNext at the pre-match news conference on how fairly he has played both roles.

“Shubman is a really talented and young athlete, and I’m forward to see how his career develops. His leadership of the team has been well appreciated. Every player, in my opinion, leads differently.

“He has batted pretty well this season. Having someone lead and perform in that way has been fantastic. It’s been a very pleasant change,” he said.

However, GT’s middle-order batting has looked a touch sluggish if their bowling has been handled by players like Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, and Sai Kishore. Their inconsistent behaviour often leaves Rahul Tewatia with a full plate, which is unsustainable over time.

Miller did not, however, raise it as a concern. The South African thinks that because the “Impact Sub” regulation is in place, there’s no need to become overly involved.

“I don’t believe the intermediate order is problematic. It is negligible due to the impact player rule. We could have won several tight games that we have lost. All we want to do is get the fundamentals perfect. All we need is a bit more resistance. We are focused on winning the next two games and we have four victories out of eight,” Miller said.

Prithvi Shaw, Yash Dhull, Shai Hope, Prithvi Dar, Jhye Richardson, Rasikh Dar, Vicky Ostwal, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Praveen Dubey, Khaleel Ahmed, Sumit Kumar, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, and Jake Fraser-McGurk are the Delhi Capitals players.

Shubman Gill (captain), David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Wade, Kane Williamson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Spencer Johnson, Kartik Tyagi, Joshua Little, Darshan Nalkande, Noor Ahmad, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohit Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Sushant Mishra, Sandeep Warrier, Sharath BR, Manav Suthar (captain).