IPL 2024,  GT vs DC - What If...The GT Top Order Was Not Dismissed Cheaply?

Wriddhiman Saha dismissal in the match against DC [iplt20.com]Wriddhiman Saha dismissal in the match against DC [iplt20.com]

The Gujarat Titans faced the Delhi Capitals in the 32nd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). This was a home match for the Titans, as the game took place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

The Delhi Capitals showcased their dominance as they steamrolled past the Gujarat Titans, securing a victory with a whopping 11.1 overs to spare. The demolition began with the DC bowlers taking charge after Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to field first. 

Ishant Sharma picked up Shubman Gill's first wicket in the second over, initiating a major collapse for the home team. The GT batters started a procession, and none of them were committed enough to weather the demanding spell and carry the innings forward with patience. The ultimate result was that they were bundled out for just 89 runs in 17.3 overs, with Rashid Khan (31 off 24) being the highest scorer. 

The DC chase was off to a blazing start as Jake Fraser-McGurk was in no mood to stretch this game too long. Even though he lasted only ten deliveries, scoring 20 runs, Fraser-McGurk gave the impetus to the other batters to chase down the tiny target in just 8.5 overs. 

All the miseries of the GT team for this game lie in the top order, succumbing under a proving bowling spell. What if the GT top-order were more patient?


What If...the GT top order showed a bit of resolution?

Gujarat Titans lost their prime batters, Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, and David Miller, within the first five overs, with just 30 runs on the board. The team needed only a couple or even one of these three batters to anchor at one end, allowing the other batters to play around him. 

The skipper, Shubman Gill, is practically known as the 'King' of the Narendra Modi Stadium. In 16 IPL Matches at this ground, Gill has scored 833 runs at an average of 64.1 while maintaining a strike rate of 159. He enjoys batting here and knows exactly how to score the runs here. If he had stayed in the middle, Gill could have accelerated towards the end and taken the total to a respectable one. 

In the previous meeting against the Capitals, B Sai Sudharsan played a brilliant knock of 62 runs. Besides, he has an average of 46.2 at the venue with a 130-plus strike rate. Even if he had weathered the first seven overs, Sudharsan could have been the perfect anchor, allowing the other batters to increase the scoring rate from the other end and taking the total to a fighting one.


For David Miller, we don't need numbers. We are all well aware of his abilities and what he could have done if he had played even till the 16th or 17th over. His presence would have ensured that GT reached over 130, which could have been a fighting one on the track. 

GT needed one or two of these three batters to be patient and hold one end. If they could have gone past the 130 mark, then with a bowling line-up comprising Spencer Johnson, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, and Mohit Sharma, who knows, the result could have been different.