New Delhi, April 9 Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar defended David Miller’s decision to refuse a single in the final moments of Delhi Capitals’ dramatic one-run defeat, stating that the South African’s confidence to finish the game himself could not be criticised.
The intense match between DC and Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday went down to the final delivery, with Miller’s split-second decision on the penultimate ball becoming the defining moment of the contest.
With two runs needed off the last two deliveries, Miller pushed the ball towards the deep, but opted against taking a single that would have handed a strike to Kuldeep Yadav. Ultimately, this decision proved decisive as the final ball resulted in a run-out, sealing a narrow win for Gujarat.
Gavaskar reflected on the moment, admitting that an alternative approach might have been wiser, though he emphasised the context of Miller’s form and intent.
“Yes, he was backing himself to hit the winning runs, but having seen the way Kuldeep Yadav nudged that ball for a single off the first ball, maybe he should have given Kuldeep the strike. He should have given the strike,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports after the match.
However, he was quick to underline that hindsight makes such judgments easier. “This is all being wise after the event, but the fact remains that the way he had been hitting the previous over and that over as well, he believed that he could do it, simple as that. So you can't fault him for that. He had the confidence that he could do it, but it didn't come off because the ball that Prasid Krishna bowled was an absolutely superb delivery,” Gavaskar added.
Miller, who had returned to the middle after a brief injury scare, almost turned the game on its head with a blistering 41 off 20 balls. His late assault began after the dismissal of KL Rahul, when Delhi found themselves needing 45 runs from the final three overs.
Taking charge, Miller attacked Mohammed Siraj in the penultimate over, striking boundaries and a six to keep the chase alive. He followed it up with a towering hit off Prasidh Krishna in the final over, bringing the equation down to just two runs from two balls.
However, the tense finish saw Prasidh deliver a well-disguised final ball that Miller failed to connect with, and Kuldeep was run out while attempting a desperate second run, bringing the thrilling encounter to a dramatic close.