Bengaluru, Apr 18 (PTI) Delhi Capitals’ Director of Cricket Y Venugopala Rao lauded David Miller for putting behind a crushing recent outing against Gujarat Titans, and delivering in a crunch moment against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an IPL match here on Saturday.
Miller, who faltered against GT when DC needed two runs off one ball on April 8, hammered RCB’s Romario Shepherd on this day for two sixes in the final over to seal a tight six-wicket win.
“I think today Miller finished it. So, it’s one good partnership. I think the kind of a target RCB had posted (176), something like that, I thought KL and Stubbs made that crucial partnership after losing three wickets,” said Rao on the post-match press meet.
“The way Miller handled his experience always counts. I mean, he didn’t miss this time. Seriously, always, you know, experience counts,” he added.
DC skipper Axar Patel had to limp off the field while batting on 26, raising concerns over his fitness.
“It’s just cramps. He will be fit for the next game,” he said.
However, Rao was happy to see Axar regaining a semblance of form — two wickets and 26 runs.
“See, when you’re captaining the side, you always look into his not only captaincy, but the ball and bat. He’s working hard. He told us, I’ve been working on it. It’s a matter of time. I think he spent a lot of time in the nets the last couple of days.
“He showed the result. At the same time, we need to push. I think the coach (Hemang Badani) was pushing him to bowl when Devdutt Padikkal (a left-hander) was playing. He can do it.
“But when you’re low on confidence, you feel that somebody has to push. I think that’s where Hemang has said, bowl it, Bapu, wickets will come and he got one wicket. Then prolonged his spell to get one more wicket for Tim David,” he said.
Rao also praised KL Rahul (57), who also celebrated his 34th birthday, and Tristan Stubbs (60 not out) for marshalling DC’s chase after losing three wickets upfront to RCB pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
“He (Stubbs) has done that. He’s doing it on and off. I think he’s used to it. He knows the role. We are blessed to have him as part of Delhi. I think if he continues like this, we’ll win more matches.
“What else do we want from the birthday boy? He’s (Rahul) always special. After losing three wickets, it’s not easy to dig out from there. I know that.
“See, he’s a class player and the kind of a role that we have given him, he’s fulfilling it. I think. no matter how much we talk about him it will be less,” Rao said. PTI UNG UNG AH AH
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