Delhi Capitals needed six runs off the last ball of the match and the skipper Rishabh Pant could get only four as RCB won a nail-biter.
It often happens in cricket and especially in the IPL when a side is completely down and out and one man lifts them up, starts firing, takes them close to victory but the team just falls short of the target. Something similar happened in Match No 22 of the Indian Premier League between two of the best sides in the ongoing edition, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Early wickets didn't help DC's cause chasing an over-par score on the Ahmedabad pitch. Delhi Capitals had to rebuild not once but twice, which delayed their hitting as Prithvi Shaw got out in the eighth over, which meant Marcus Stoinis and skipper Rishabh Pant had to again stabilize the innings to set the stage for themselves and Shimron Hetmyer.
The delay meant the Capitals now needed 75 runs off the last six overs. It meant one of Hetmyer and Pant had to go and Hetmyer went after Mohammed Siraj first, getting a six and a four off the 15th over to bring the equation down to 61 off the last five.
A couple of quiet overs meant the equation was now 46 needed off the last 18 balls.
Hetmyer salvaged the equation for the men in blue as he was severe on the 6'8" tall pacer Kyle Jamieson hitting him for three sixes in the 18th over to bring the equation down to 25 runs off the last two overs. A boundary and a couple of doubles meant they got 11 runs off the 19th and needed 14th off the final, to be bowled by Mohammed Siraj.
Siraj had his tails up as the pacer landed one yorker after the other and DC could get only two runs of the first three balls. Now, Pant, who was struggling for his timing the whole of the innings, managed a couple again and DC now needed 10 runs off the final two deliveries.
A wide full toss and Pant managed to get the ball over the short third man fielder and a six was required off the last. Another wide yorker and Pant sliced it only grounded towards the boundary as the RCB pulled off a miraculous win by just one run.
The unbeaten 78-run partnership between the two southpaws went in vain and not just the two players themselves, the fans, the experts were gutted for both of them, who almost pulled off an improbable win for the Delhi side.
Here are some of the reactions:
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 "Shimron Hetmyer and Rishabh Pant")
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