New Delhi, May 8
When Khaleel Ahmed bowled the 15th over in Delhi Capitals’ defence of 221 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) and conceded four consecutive wides, on-air commentators felt the hosts’ had missed a trick by not handing the ball to Kuldeep Yadav, who still had an over left in his allotted quota of overs.
By the time Kuldeep was handed the ball at the start of the 18th over, RR needed 41 off 18 balls, with both Sanju Samson and Shubham Dubey back in the hut. Kuldeep conceded only four runs, including taking out Donovan Ferreira and Ravichandran Ashwin, to turn the game in DC's favour.
After Rasikh Salam conceded only eight runs in a clutch 19th over, including bowling four yorkers, Mukesh Kumar castled Powell in the final over, as DC won by 20 runs and jumped to fifth place in points table, thus keeping their playoffs hopes alive.
At the end of the match, DC skipper Rishabh Pant revealed he had a plan to keep one over of Kuldeep for countering RR's right-handed batters - Ferreira and Powell – a ploy which worked well in the side's favour.
"The thought was always there because for Rovman and Ferreira we wanted to keep that over. We wanted to take that chance because with Kuldeep, we knew that these players are going to have problems. And as always, Kuldeep delivered - great to see that!" he said.
Kuldeep was named Player of the Match for his decisive spell of 2-25 and talked about how he outclassed Ferreira. "It's very important to bowl in good length. That is the challenge when you bowl in the death overs, especially when you know they have got power-hitters coming up."
"I have seen Ferreira, having played against him in South Africa. I knew he is a back-foot player, so I just tried to push it further up. That was my plan to him, and I got him first ball. Then I was just varying the pace and the length."
DC's death-overs bowling was exceptional, as they conceded only 20 runs in last three overs and keep RR to 201/8. "Especially in the back end, the way fast bowlers executed the yorkers (was the turning point). That’s a positive, because the way our fast bowling has been going and the way the tournament is progressing, each and every day the bowlers are coming on the positive side, and that's good to see," added Pant.
Mukesh also echoed in the same vein, saying Kuldeep’s 18th over changed the game for DC. "I wanted to bowl two dots in the final over. I wanted to get him (Powell) out which I did. I feel good to back my strengths but had to use variations on this pitch. Kuldeep's over (18th) was the turning point in the match. 210 was par but as the runs came, 20 was a lot for us. The two points are crucial."
It was also the fourth consecutive time in IPL 2024 when the Arun Jaitley Stadium produced a run-fest. Kuldeep conceded pressure is there when bowling in Delhi, but backing his strengths helped him outclass RR.
"There is always pressure on you as a bowler. You try to mix your length and line. There is a lot of chance to pick wickets, and that's what I did. You have to be smart enough to bowl and read the batter. It's better to back your strengths, and just keep believing," he concluded.
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