While Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) surprised all by becoming a finalist in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, it was Delhi Capitals (DC), whose loss in Qualifier 2 had granted the Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise the spot.
The Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals had lost by three wickets to crash out of the tournament after a top-table finish on the league stage. Talking about the loss, off-spinner R Ashwin revealed where what went wrong in his mind during the thrilling last over against KKR.
The side, who were chasing the score set by DC, was in cruise mode especially after a sensational opening stand of 96 runs between Venkatesh Iyer and Shubman Gill. However, they suddenly lost the plot and lost six wickets for nearly no runs in 23 balls.
The Eoin Morgan-led side had slipped from 123/1 to 130/7, and KKR needed 6 off the last two deliveries with Rahul Tripathi on strike.
Ashwin, who had dismissed both Shakib Al Hasan and Sunil Narine off consecutive deliveries, however, delivered a slightly short ball which was wide and enough for Tripathi to smash it over his head down the ground for a six.
Ashwin in a recent video interaction on his official YouTube explained what went wrong and said, “The first four balls, I didn’t think much and it worked. And, before the fifth ball, I thought ‘Aaha, we have won! (Smiles)’. Then I thought about short boundaries, the dew and also predicted that he would jump down the track, which is why I bowled it slightly short. Tripathi has never hit me for a four in the past. Unfortunately for us, it came at the wrong time.”
The Capitals, despite having the privilege of having an extra shot at the IPL final, could not make the most of it and failed twice, as they lost the first qualifier against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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