By Prakash Nair 
New Delhi, April 8: GT won by one run. One single run. That’s it. After one of the most chaotic, emotional, gut-wrenching IPL matches you’ll see this season, the Gujarat Titans beat Delhi Capitals 210 to 209 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium tonight. DC needed two runs off the last ball. They got one.
The unbeaten DC run? Done. GT’s winless streak? Finally over.
KL Rahul was absolutely brilliant, and it still wasn’t Enough
Nobody expected KL Rahul to be the one carrying Delhi tonight. After scoring just one run across the first two matches, he had been the easiest target for criticism all week.
Tonight he answered every single one of those critics.
Rahul was playing a blinding knock, and at one stage it genuinely seemed like nothing could stop DC. He was hitting sixes off Washington Sundar and punishing Rabada on the off side and running sharp singles. He looked like a completely different batter from the one who had been scratching around for the past two weeks.
He finished with 92 off 52 balls, 11 fours, and 4 sixes. A magnificent innings. The kind that wins most T20 games.
But not tonight.
Rahul flashed at a wide ball from Siraj and edged it straight into the gloves of Jos Buttler. Gone for 92. Eight runs short of a hundred. The Delhi crowd went silent.
His wife Athiya Shetty, watching from the stands, looked devastated. Most of the stadium looked the same way.
Rashid Khan Arrived and Broke DC’s Back
Delhi were cruising. 40 runs without loss early. The equation was under control. Then Rashid Khan decided the match was going on too long.
Rashid dismissed Nitish Rana and Sameer Rizvi in the same over. Rana went to a catch at mid-on. Rizvi, the man who had rescued Delhi twice already this season, was out on the first ball. First ball. Didn’t even face a second delivery.
Then Rashid got Axar Patel for 2 caught by Glenn Phillips in a sharp take. Three wickets in his spell. Three key batters gone. DC were suddenly 134 for 4, needing 77 off 36 balls.
That is how quickly Rashid Khan can take a match away from you.
Mohammed Siraj Finally Delivered When It Counted
Siraj had been one of GT’s worries all season. Expensive. Short of rhythm. Not the bowler who made everyone nervous a few years back.
Tonight, Siraj came good in the death and dismissed Rahul for 92, the edge flying through to Buttler’s gloves. That one delivery of a wide ball that Rahul couldn’t resist was the moment the match turned permanently in GT’s favour.
After that wicket, Delhi never looked like getting there.
The David Miller Situation Was Genuinely Heartbreaking
This part hurt to watch.
David Miller injured himself while diving in the field. The physio came on, Miller shadow-batted to check his hand, and there were serious concerns about whether he could continue.
He came back. Injured thumb and all. He was still hitting sixes off Siraj, still trying to drag Delhi over the line. Two sixes. A four. A man playing with one good hand and a pure heart.
But a half-fit Miller trying to manufacture boundaries in the final two overs is not the same as a fully fit Miller who could have come in earlier and changed the middle overs entirely. The injury didn’t just slow him down. It changed Delhi’s entire death-overs plan.
If he plays that innings fully fit, this article has a different ending.
Nissanka Did His Part Too
Before all the drama, Pathum Nissanka had given DC a blazing start with 41 off 24 balls, three boundaries off Siraj in the opening over alone. The Sri Lankan opener was exactly what Delhi needed at the top, and for a while, with Rahul in full flow at the other end, the chase looked almost comfortable.
Almost.
How It All Fell Apart in the Last Three Overs
This is the simple version of what happened at the end.
Rahul was dismissed for 92 in the 17th over. Rashid had already removed Rizvi, Rana, and Axar. Tristan Stubbs was run out for 7. Vipraj Nigam made a brave 12 off 7 at the death, but that was never going to be enough.
Miller came back injured and swung hard. Got some of them. Not all of them.
DC ended on 209 for 8. GT defended 210 by one run.
The last ball was bowled. DC needed two. Got one. Match over.
The Scorecard That Says It All
GT First Innings: 210 for 4 in 20 overs Shubman Gill: 70 off 45 Jos Buttler: 52 off 26 Washington Sundar: 55 off 32
DC Second Innings: 209 for 8 in 20 overs KL Rahul: 92 off 52 (c Buttler b Siraj) Pathum Nissanka: 41 off 24 Sameer Rizvi: 0 off 1 (b Rashid) Axar Patel: 2 (c Phillips b Rashid) Tristan Stubbs: 7 (run out) Vipraj Nigam: 12 off 7
GT bowling: Rashid Khan 3 wickets. Mohammed Siraj KL Rahul’s wicket, the one that mattered most.
What This Means for Both Teams
GT has its first win. Their season is alive. Shubman Gill returned from injury, and his team won. Rashid Khan reminded everyone why he is still the most dangerous bowler in T20 cricket when conditions suit him. And Siraj, after two expensive matches, got the wicket that won a game.
For Delhi, the streak ends at two. They are still 2-1, still in decent shape for the season. But this one will hurt for a while. A 92-run knock that ends in defeat. An injury to your most dangerous finisher at the worst time. Rizvi out for a duck on the first ball he faces.
One run. That is sport. Ruthless and completely unfair and completely brilliant all at once.
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- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
