IPL 2023: Ishant Sharma Analyzes His Performance against GT

IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals (DC) speedster Ishant Sharma shared his strategy for the final over of the match against the Gujarat Titans (GT). With two wickets and only 23 runs conceded, he played an instrumental role in Delhi’s victory by five runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Nagpur on May 2.

Though it was a daunting task to defend 131 against a strong Gujarat batting lineup, the motivated Delhi bowlers persevered. With nine balls left, Gujarat needed 30 to win, and Rahul Tewatia hit three sixes off Anrich Nortje to bring the Titans back into the game. However, Ishant Sharma kept his composure and successfully limited the opposition to just six runs in the last over, enabling Delhi Capitals to win with their lowest-ever total and remain in the competition.

IPL 2023: Ishant Outsmarted Tewatia with His Experience in the Final Over

“I keep practicing in the nets. We practice bowling we the new ball, but at the same time we do practice bowling wide yorkers, and today the hardwork paid off, I just backed myself and bowled wide yorkers. When you are preparing yourself in the nets we plan to certain batsmen as to what to bowl and it is all about executing it every single time, back yourself and believing in yourself. I played enough cricket with him (Tewatia), so I was just having fun with him. I knew I had to double bluff him otherwise we know what he can do with the bat. We (The bowlers) don’t think about the target, it is just about executing the plans. From hereon we hope to carry the momentum, keep going forward and hope for the best,” Ishant Sharma said after the match.

Earlier in the match, Delhi Capitals got off to a terrible start after winning the toss and opting to bat first with Mohammed Shami taking four wickets for just 11 runs in his spell. At 23/5 after the first five overs, Axar Patel and Aman Khan built a crucial 50-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

Axar eventually fell to Mohit Sharma after scoring 27, while Ripal Patel smashed a quickfire 23 off 13 balls to add 53 runs with Aman, who scored 51 off 44 balls. Gujarat Titans made a comeback in the last two overs, conceding only 11 runs to limit Delhi Capitals to 130/8.