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Gujarat Titans (GT) batter David Miller has stated that his IPL team was confident of chasing down 40 in the last three overs against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), provided they had wickets in hand.
Miller (30 off 21) and Rahul Tewatia (40* off 24) featured in a brisk fifth-wicket stand of 60 as GT chased down 159 with five wickets in hand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Speaking at a post-match conference, Miller pointed out that he has played with Tewatia before at the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) and hence shares a good level of comfort with the all-rounder. On the conversation in the middle during their impressive partnership, the South African cricketer said:
“In the last couple of years, Rahul has chased down some imposing totals. We were just waiting for the momentum to shift. We took our time initially and couldn’t get going. But we knew that if we took it deep, we could chase 40 in the last 3 overs on this particular ground.”
The 32-year-old added that the two overs of spin in which they went after Deepak Hooda (16th over) and Ravi Bishnoi (17th over) made their task easier. The southpaw explained:
“We tried to give ourselves the best chance, and then that one over from the spinner (Hooda) went for 21 (22 runs) and the next over (from Ravi Bishnoi) for another 19 (17 runs). It was really nice to be out there with him (Tewatia) and see what he is capable of."
After Miller’s dismissal, Abhinav Manohar came in and smashed an unbeaten 15 off 7 to put the finishing touches on the close match.
Check out the full IPL teams owner here.
“He asked us to have fun” - David Miller on Hardik Pandya’s captaincy
The game on Monday marked Hardik Pandya’s IPL debut as captain for Gujarat. Asked about his early impressions of the Baroda all-rounder’s leadership skills, Miller admitted that he does not know him very well. However, he added:
“I have played against him a few times. So what I have seen on the field of him in the past was exactly what I was expecting.”
Elaborating on Hardik’s captaincy style, the Proteas batter revealed that the skipper expects the players to have fun while working equally hard towards winning. He stated:
“He asked us to have fun. He wants us to work hard and wants to win. It’s just about reiterating the amount of fun and what a great opportunity this is to be at the IPL and play at this level. So far, so good with his leadership. Really looking forward to working alongside him for the next two months. Just to go out and express ourselves and enjoy what we do.”
GT pacer Mohammed Shami was named Player of the Match against LSG for his figures of 3 for 25. According to the IPL 2022 schedule, Gujarat will next face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the MCA Stadium in Pune on April 2.
