Bowling the last over for Delhi Capitals, R Ashwin had 7 runs to defend. Kolkata Knight Riders were 129/5 with Rahul Tripathi and Shakib al Hasan in the middle, and the match was slowly tilting in DC’s favour with three quick wickets and just 4 runs in the past couple of overs.
However, Ashwin had a pat on his back for his job well done. He just gave away a single in the first two balls, and then picked two wickets in the next two deliveries, leaving the equation firmly in DC’s hand. The KKR needed 6 runs in 2 balls with Tripathi on strike and only three wickets in hand.
On the fifth ball of the over, Ashwin bowled a flattish delivery outside off stump and Rahul Tripathi pounced on it to smoke it over long-off for the maximum, winning the game for his team.
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After the match, India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar dissected Ashwin’s final over and explained where he made a mistake in the over.
“He (Ashwin) is a very clever bowler. He knew exactly what to bowl to which batsmen. He was reading the batsman’s mind. He knew Sunil Narine was going to come up and just go hard at everything, so he bowled him just a little bit wider, and he was caught by the fielder at long-on,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
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“On the final ball, he just miscalculated. He thought Tripathi was going to run down the pitch, and he did not. He bowled a little bit flatter, so it will not be in the arc, in case he rushes down the pitch. But what Tripathi did what he also anticipated, and he hit a great shot, and a great way to finish,” he added.
“But KKR have only themselves to blame for the position they got themselves in. They should have won it comfortably with 10 balls to spare,” he signed off.