A lot of the DC batters got starts but none of them managed to cross 40, with Axar’s 32-ball 39 the highest of the innings

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2025

Prasidh Krishna picked 4 for 41 and got the purple cap as well•BCCI

After a tough couple of days, the Ahmedabad pitch gave a bit of respite for batters on a hot Saturday afternoon. Karun Nair, KL Rahul, and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) middle-order batters got starts, but none of them crossed 39. Gujarat Titans (GT) used only five bowlers for 19 overs of the innings. Prasidh Krishna, who got hold of the purple cap, pulled the visitors back after a great start with a four-wicket haul.DC leaving out Jake Fraser-McGurk created the new opening combination of Abhisek Porel and Nair. Porel’s boundaries in the first over; a drive on the up over mid-off and a help-along flick behind square, showed that the pitch could be trusted.He fell to a full toss from Arshad Khan and Rahul’s shift in approach kept DC ticking. Rahul cut Siraj and was able to pump him down the ground. His start was ominous but an outswinging yorker from Prasidh trapped him lbw for 28 off 14 balls.Nair, too, got boundaries on both sides of the wicket. He was out in a relatively soft manner, ramping a shortish ball straight to deep third.A pristine cover drive from Stubbs off Prasidh brought up DC’s hundred in the ninth over. But he and Axar Patel were relatively sedate after that during the 53-run stand off 36 balls. They were happy to take Rashid Khan and Ishant Sharma for ones and twos.Rashid bowled quicker and at the stumps in his first two overs. He slowed the pace down in his third as Stubbs took him for six down the ground but then miscued a swipe across the line. Rashid ran back but couldn’t hold onto the catch close to the ring at mid-on. It led to a slog-swept six from Axar next ball.Ishant was struggling in the heat and went off the pitch after two overs. Siraj returned and removed Stubbs, who reverse swept a yorker and the ball lobbed to short third.GT’s death bowlers included a lot of yorker attempts with short balls peppered in between. It nearly worked first ball, but Rashid dropped Axar at the start of the 17th.The DC skipper could not hit a boundary in his last nine balls and was out caught behind. He charged Prasidh and tried to slap a length ball over cover and got an edge. Prasidh was on a hat-trick a ball later, thanks to a brilliant diving catch from Jos Buttler to dismiss Vipraj Nigam.Ashutosh Sharma was the primary boundary hitter in the final overs. He got a six and a four off Arshad early in his innings and hit two sixes off Prasidh later on. R Sai Kishore, whose only over was the final one of the innings, went for just nine, as GT inched past the 200 mark.