Gavaskar, Pietersen dissect IPL thriller as Rashid Khan reveals key bowling tweaks

Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen dissected the final over drama in Delhi Capitals’ close IPL clash against Gujarat Titans, while Rashid Khan shared insights on his line and length adjustments, explaining how a small tweak helped secure the Titans’ thrilling victory.

Hyderabad: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar emphasised the importance of game awareness when referring to David Miller not taking a single of the penultimate ball of the final over against Gujarat Titans in the IPL game when two runs were required of the last two balls for Delhi Capitals to clinch the issue in Delhi on Wednesday night.

“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, in hindsight, a single might have been the better option, especially after Kuldeep Yadav managed one earlier,” Gavaskar said on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live”.

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“But 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,” he said.

Another JioStar expert Kevin Pietersen assessed Rashid Khan’s performance. ““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,” he said.

For his part, GujaratTitans star bowler Rashid Khan said after his surgery, he felt he was trying too many things, thinking about his action, landing and complicating his bowling.

“I took a break after the last season, went back and reassessed what I was doing wrong. I realised my strength has always been my line and length, but in the last couple of years, my length had dropped slightly. I was bowling closer to six metres, whereas my ideal area is around five-and-a-half,” he said.

“That small adjustment makes a big difference, especially on surfaces like red soil where the ball comes on nicely. For me, it was about simplifying things and getting back to hitting the right areas consistently,” Rashid said.

On the final over drama, Rashid said: “I felt David Miller might take a single on the next ball, but in that moment, you also think about different possibilities, like if another slower bouncer is bowled, there could be a chance of a wicket, and that’s exactly what happened.”

“ If he had taken a single earlier, the game could have gone deeper, but these are things you realise only afterwards. In the end, it turned out to be a great match, and we’re happy to come out on the winning side,” he said.