Killer Miller and Pandya keep their cool to hand Gujarat feisty win

David Miller thrives on chasing targets. The stiffer the target, the better Miller gets. He has been the central figure in Gujarat Titans’ successful run chases in their inaugural IPL. Miller showed his class once again in the all-important Qualifier 1, remaining unbeaten on 68 with three fours and five sixes.

Miller either had Rahul Tewatia or Rashid Khan to finish things off in the league matches. On Tuesday, he had none other than his captain Hardik Pandya to finish it for Titans, notching up a comfortable seven-wicket victory after chasing down Rajasthan Royals’ 188 for six to win with three deliveries to spare.

With 16 needed off the last over sent down by Prasidh Krishna, Miller lofted the right-arm pacer over long-on first ball for six. Putting Krishna under pressure, Miller was fed with a short-pitched delivery next, which the left-hander pulled over mid-wicket. It was only a formality before Miller finished the match for Titans, who now needed four off four deliveries.

The third delivery was a slower one from Krishna, which Miller positioned nicely to send over the mid-wicket region and into the crowd.

Miller kept his cool throughout Titans run chase, which was off to a disastrous start with RR’s Trent Boult dismissing Titans opener Wriddhiman Saha for a second-ball duck. However, a second-wicket stand of 72 in 7.2 overs between opener Shubman Gill (35) and Matthew Wade (35) put Titans back on track before the two fell within the space of 13 runs and 11 deliveries, the former being run out while the latter was caught in the deep by Jos Buttler off left-arm pacer Obed McCoy.

McCoy may have been RR’s go to bowler in the death but he has been erratic in the five matches that he has played, lucky to pick up wickets when the batsmen went for big shots in the death overs.

On Tuesday, he was as erratic as erratic can be, bowling an eventful first over, the 10^th of the Titans’ run chase. Starting with a wide down the leg-side to Pandya, he managed to dismiss No. 3 Wade with a poor delivery. A short ball was pulled by Wade to mid-wicket boundary that was caught well by Jos Buttler. So bad was the delivery that McCoy was lucky to get a wicket, even to his own surprise.

In came Miller to join Pandya. The Titans needed 104 to win in 10.3 overs. McCoy sent down three wides and one over-the-head-high No Ball to Miller, and gave away 18 runs in all in his opening over.

Miller settled down nicely in the company of Pandya as they began to construct a match-winning 106-run partnership for the unbroken fourth wicket. Not in a hurry to score early on, Miller’s first 10 runs came off 14 deliveries. His next 58 were off just 24 deliveries.

Pandya and Miller kept the Titans in the chase and the required rate was never out of their reach. They saw off the two RR spinners R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, both going wicketless and conceding a combined 72 in their eight overs.

Miller’s first two sixes were off Chahal, one going straight and the other over long-on. Even though McCoy bowled a rare decent over, conceding only seven in the 19^th, Miller did not panic. He backed his six-hitting abilities. He has done it in the past. And he did it again when Krishna, known to be an economical bowler in the death in his brief international career, had nothing going his way in the last over. Miller was in that mood of hitting sixes that any sort of delivery was certain to go over the ropes.

Titans were comfortable winners, their yet another last over successful chase taking them straight to the final. And Miller, the Killer, was there to see them cross the line.