In the IPL thriller versus Gujarat Titans on Wednesday, Delhi Capitals batter David Miller refused to take a single, costing his team the match. India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar praised Miller, stating the South African’s intentions cannot be faulted.
Miller declined a single off Prasidh Krishna on the penultimate ball as he needed two off two to reach 211. He ran for a single despite missing the last delivery. But once the two batters had crossed over, Jos Buttler’s direct throw was too good for Kuldeep Yadav on the other end.
“David Miller was backing himself, he had been striking the ball well and believed he could finish it. You can’t fault that intent. In the end, it also came down to execution, Prasidh Krishna bowled a superb slower bouncer at the right height, which made it difficult. These are very fine margins in pressure situations,” PTI quoted Gavaskar as saying on ‘JioHotstar’.
The legendary cricketer-turned-commentator continued the importance of game awareness in high-pressure situations, something that former India head coach Ravi Shastri emphasized during the 1986 tied Test match against Australia.
When India was chasing 348 in the Chennai (then Madras) encounter, Shastri demonstrated remarkable poise with an undefeated 48 and crucially took a single at the perfect time to draw the game at 347 before Maninder Singh, the final batsman, was bowled for a duck.
“This is where game awareness becomes crucial. It reminds me of what Ravi Shastri did in that tied Test against Australia in 1986, taking a single at the right moment to level the scores. In this case (GT vs DC), in hindsight, a single might have been the better option (for Miller), especially after Kuldeep Yadav managed one earlier,” added Gavaskar.
Rashid Khan, an Afghanistan all-rounder who took three wickets while giving up just 17 runs in his four overs, was crucial to GT’s nerve-wracking victory, according to former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen. This was GT’s season-opening victory.
Pietersen did, however, criticize the remainder of the Gujarat Titans’ bowling assault.
“Rashid Khan was outstanding. It’s always good to see him back close to his best because by his own standards, he would expect more from himself. Having said that, I don’t think Gujarat Titans’ bowling as a whole was at its best, and they didn’t close the game out particularly well. But that’s the nature of the game, you’ll have more tough days than good ones,” added Pietersen.
