Hardik Pandya not taking risks cost GT the game against DC, says Parthiv Patel

Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel criticised Hardik Pandya, saying had the Gujarat Titans (GT) captain taken a few risks, his side would have won on Tuesday.

GT failed to chase down 131 runs against Delhi Capitals (DC) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 meeting. DC’s veteran pacer Ishant Sharma defended 12 runs off the final over when GT had Hardik and Rahul Tewatia at the crease. The two said batters failed to hit a single boundary off Ishant.

Hardik, who remained unbeaten on 59 off 53 balls, later on took responsibility for GT’s loss, saying he was unable to get in his rhythm.

“The game went deep because he (Hardik) played low-risk cricket. If he took a few risks, they could’ve ended the game an over or two earlier chasing a target of 130 runs. When you are 59 not out in 53 balls chasing 130, you expect your team to win. He made almost half the runs and all the boundaries we saw were hit on the back foot. He was waiting for things to happen, the saying ‘we need to make things happen’, he wasn’t doing that,” Parthiv said on Jio Cinema after Gujarat's loss against Delhi.

Delhi, yet again, had a massive failure with the bat as the touring side managed just 130 runs on the board in the first innings. However, they bounced back in the second innings at Narendra Modi Stadium with an excellent performance with the ball. Barring Axar Patel, every Delhi bowler took one wicket each. Ishant, Khaleel Ahmed and Kuldeep Yadav implemented their roles well as they helped DC secure two crucial points and remain alive in the tournament.

During the same discussion on Jio Cinema, former India head coach Anil Kumble lauded David Warner-led DC and said that Ishant’s defence of 12 runs in the last over was incredible.

"The execution of those and clarity of thought, saying ‘Okay, I’m going to bowl these wide yorkers and execute them perfectly’ and the next ball was a slower ball. That slower ball is something I am seeing Ishant Sharma doing for the first time in terms of the knuckleball, very late in his delivery stride, he changes that to a knuckleball and the execution is just perfect. He got Vijay Shankar out and then Tewatia. The last over, to defend 12 runs, against these kinds of batters is exceptional,” Kumble said.

Shubman Gill: We lost due to lack of partnerships

Meanwhile, GT batter Shubman Gill admitted that his side lost to Delhi due to a lack of partnerships during the chase.

“The wicket wasn’t so bad. We bowled really well. We couldn’t stitch partnerships in the top order, which created pressure on the lower order. The wicket was tough to bat, but with the kind of batting we have, chasing 131 shouldn’t have been a problem,” Gill said at the post-match conference.

Gill also said that DC spinners Axar and Kuldeep made their life tough during the chase in Ahmedabad. Kuldeep dismissed in-form David Miller while giving away only 15 runs off four overs. While Axar couldn’t make a breakthrough, he bowled at an economy rate of six.

“DC spinners bowled well and it was difficult to hit boundaries,” added Gill.

Gill backed his skipper Hardik, saying the all-rounder just had an off day with the bat.

“As a player and a batter, we are all bound to have one off day. It was just one of those off days where he backed himself, which every batter should. He backed himself to hit those runs, but DC bowlers bowled some good yorkers in the end,” Shubman added.