IPL 2023: David Miller's brilliant supporting act to Sai Sudharsan against Delhi Capitals was just as important for Gujarat Titans

Had Miller gotten out early, Sudharsan would have had to shoulder a lot of pressure as there was nobody of that level in the GT batting lineup after him.

David Miller in a file photo. (Image: Twitter/Gujarat Titans)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Apr 4, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

On Tuesday, Gujarat Titans (GT) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium by six wickets and 11 balls to spare in match 7 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). While B Sai Sudharsan is rightfully the talk of the town, one must not for get the immense role South African batter David Miller played in getting his team over the line. Sudharsan played marvelously, scoring his second IPL half-century as he marched his way to an unbeaten 62 off 48 deliveries. Sudharsan recorded four boundaries and a couple of maximums in the knock.

However, had it not been for David Miller, we might be looking at a completely different outcome. The Titans’ top order completely failed them today. Openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill both scored only 14 runs before being cleaned by the raw pace of Anrich Nortje. Skipper Hardik Pandya came in at number 4 and was dismissed for just five.

Impact player Vijay Shankar seemed to hold the innings along with Sudharsan for a while but he too was dismissed at a crucial point in the game. The defending champions initially found themselves in a pickle when they were 56-3. Then, it was Shankar and Sudharsan who stabilized the innings and played sensible shots around the park. However, at 13.2 overs, Shankar was dismissed by Mitchell Marsh and that would have really put the Titans in a spot of bother had it not been for Miller.

Right place, right time

At that point, GT were 107-4 off 13.2. This means that they had to get a little under 60 in a little over six overs. The team simply could not have someone come in, at that point of time, and take his own sweet time to settle in. At the same time, the team also needed someone to stay with Sudharsan until the end. Enter David Miller.

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Miller got off to an explosive start, smashing two boundaries and two maximums, which completely took the pressure off Sudharsan and allowed him to play his natural game. Those 20 runs that the Protean got made a massive difference to how the young Indian batter would approach the match. Had Miller gotten out early, Sudharsan would have had to shoulder a lot of pressure as there was nobody in the GT batting lineup apart from Rahul Tewatia who could really help him share the load.

The psychological aspect of a partnership

The South African proved to be the perfect partner for Sudharsan, who could eventually play his natural game and score his second IPL half-century. If one saw the match, they would know that it was not just Miller’s batting that helped Sudharsan out. The 33-year-old veteran would go up to the Indian and fire him up, punching him on the chest and letting him know that he was the man of the hour. The psychological part of cricket is something rarely talked about, but gestures like these go a long way in making someone believe in themselves.

In the end, it was Miller who scored the winning runs as the Gujarat Titans won two out of two matches so far in the 2023 IPL and gained a foothold of the top spot on the points table.





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