Delhi Capitals stay alive in IPL with tense 5-run win over Gujarat Titans
New Delhi, Apr 02: Aman Khan’s maiden T20 fifty was beautifully complemented by the pacers as Delhi Capitals kept their playoff hopes alive with a tense five-run win over Gujarat Titans in the IPL here on Tuesday.
Aman (51 off 44) waged a lone battle, putting some much-need runs on the board. He added 50 off 54 balls with Axar Patel (27) and 53 off 27 balls with Ripal Patel (23).
In reply, Hardik Pandya’s (59 off 53) sedate fifty and Rahul Tewatia’s (20) hattrick of sixes were not enough as Delhi bowlers held their nerves to stop the defending champions at 125 for 6.
It was the third win of the season for Delhi, who continue to remain at the bottom of the table, while Gujarat continued to remain on the top spot.
Defending a modest target, Delhi quicks were able to make an early breakthrough, as Gujarat lost three wickets inside the powerplay.
If 'Impact Player' Khaleel Ahmed (2/24) bowled a beautiful first over which was a wicket-maiden, pace spearhead Anrich Nortje (1/39) got rid of the dangerous Shubman Gill (6).
Veteran pacer Ishant Sharma (2/23) too joined the party as he outfoxed Vijay Shankar (6) with a perfectly executed knuckle ball.
Wickets continued to tumble with the introduction of the slow bowlers, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (1/15) bamboozled David Miller (0) in the seventh over.
Pandya and Abhinav Manohar (26) steadied the Gujarat ship with 62-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Pandya anchored the innings with Tewatia hitting three back-to-back sixes off the penultimate over. But with 12 needed off the final over, Ishant gave away just six runs while taking the vital wicket of Tewatia. Earlier, Delhi once again suffered a dramatic collapse, losing five wickets for 23 runs inside five overs and at the centre of it all was Shami.
The veteran Indian pacer set the tone of the match as he struck off the first ball of the game to get Phil Salt for a golden duck.
A horrible mix up between young Priyam Garg (10) and skipper David Warner (2) cost Delhi the wicket of the Australian in the second over.
Rilee Rossouw (8) was next to depart as Shami struck once again. The veteran Indian induced slight movement away from Rossouw. An outside edge led the ball to straight into the hands of wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha's gloves as Delhi fell to 16 for three.
With Shami bowling a tight opening spell, captain Hardik Pandya decided to continue bowling the pacer and the move paid dividends. Shami continued his wicket-taking streak in his third over, snaring two in his final over.
The Indian bowled a wobble seam delivery, tempting Manish Pandey (1) to drive it but the late movement meant the ball found the edge of the bat and Saha completing a stunning one handed catch diving to his right.
Shami's final victim of the night was Garg with Saha yet again completing another catch behind the stumps.
With half the side back in the dugout, the Capitals, who are at the bottom of the points table and need to win this game to stay alive in the race for the playoffs, were tottering at 28 for five at the end of the Powerplay.
Axar Patel (27), who was promoted up the order, and Aman did stem the rot with some much-needed runs but pacer Mohit Sharma (2/33) broke the 50-run partnership as he snared the wicket of the Delhi vice-captain.
Aman punished Mohit Sharma in the 16th over, hitting a boundary past short third and a flat six over fine leg as DC inched closer to the 100-run mark.
The uncapped Aman brought up a much-needed half century in 41 balls.
His innings was studded with three hits to the fence and as many over it.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Suvendu Adhikari says Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel taught Gaza”
Kolkata: Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has sparked controversy after stating that Bangladesh should be taught a “lesson like Israel has taught Gaza.”
Adhikari made the remark while speaking to reporters outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Kolkata on Friday, December 26. “These people must be taught a lesson, just like Israel taught Gaza. Our 100 crore Hindus and the government working in the interest of Hindus must teach them a lesson just as we taught Pakistan a lesson in Operation Sindoor,” he said.
The statement came amid protests being held outside the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission since December 22, following the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old garment factory worker in Bangladesh. Das was killed on December 18 in the Mymensingh district, where his body was allegedly hung from a tree and set on fire in public view.
Adhikari was part of a five-member delegation that met senior officials of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission on Friday. Speaking after the meeting, he claimed that the diplomats had “no answer to most of his questions” related to the killing and the situation of minorities in Bangladesh.
Reacting to his comments, the All India Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of promoting hate and intolerance. In a post on X, the party described Adhikari’s remarks as hate speech and alleged that they amounted to a call for violence, while also questioning the absence of legal action against him.
Adhikari’s statement has added to political tensions in West Bengal and raised concerns over inflammatory rhetoric linked to sensitive international and communal issues.
The @BJP4India’s Bengal ‘face’ wants a Gaza like operation against Bangladesh. Dog whistles that the @narendramodi government is for ‘Hindus’ only. Do you concur with this @narendramodi @DrSJaishankar ? Dirty politics of Divide and Rule won’t work in Bengal, @SuvenduWB pic.twitter.com/vLWm9b3AXb
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) December 27, 2025
