2 min readNew DelhiApr 9, 2026 08:34 AM IST
“It happens”.
After a team fails to get two runs from two balls with a designated finisher on strike, that’s all they can say.
Delhi Capitals were understandably shell-shocked at the denouement of the topsy-turvy game against Gujarat Titans, one which they seem to be winning, then losing, then winning again before finishing on the wrong side after 40 overs of dramatic action.
“There has not been any discussion about the final two deliveries yet,” DC opener Pathum Nissanka said barely minutes after David Miller let another one slip away in the final over after hitting what seemed at that stage the match-winning six off the fourth ball of the final over.
“That’s cricket,” is all Nissanka had to offer.
Gujarat Titans wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who threw down the stumps on the final ball to seal the one-run win, had no qualms in admitting that they were “very lucky”.
As for his captain Shubman Gill, he knew anything can happen once the match goes to the final ball.
Gujarat Titans team celebrates after winning the match against Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA)
“When Miller didn’t take the single (to fine leg off the penultimate ball), I thought we had a chance to win,” he said.
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The ploy to bowl a bouncer without much pace on it was also a calculated move.
“We decided that if we bowl a good slower one, it will be difficult to hit it for a boundary.”
In a way, after hitting fours and sixes galore to put the team on the brink of victory after requiring 36 off 12 balls, getting a humble single became tricky.
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan, whose spell of 3/17 from four overs had given GT a chance in the first place, had some sympathy for Miller.
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“I’m happy that I’m not in his position,” the Afghan said. “But it was good that he didn’t take that single. I was in the same position in the last game (against Rajasthan Royals) and couldn’t finish the game.”
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