BENGALURU: THE last time David Miller decided to take an Indian Premier League (IPL) match to the last ball, Delhi Capitals lost a game they should have at least taken into a Super Over. Against Gujarat Titans in Delhi on April 8, Miller opted against running a single off the fifth ball of the 20th over. He backed himself to hit a two off the final ball but the visitors stole a thrilling heist.
Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday evening, in front of a packed crowd at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, it was approaching squeaky bum time with Miller in the middle. This time, the South African delivered when the odds were against him. Needing 13 off the final four balls, the southpaw climbed into a very friendly brand of medium pace from Romario Shepherd to clinch the match for the visitors with six wickets and a ball to spare.
A full-toss on the pads was dispatched over mid-wicket. For the next ball, Rajat Patidar's field placings suggested this would be on an eighth stump line. Shepherd's line was okay but it was on the slot and begging to be hit. Miller, who has made a living by hitting these deliveries for six for over the past decade, creamed this over cover for maximum runs.
The pressure valve broke and all tension had evaporated. A capacity crowd, some of whom had come to the Chinnaswamy from as early as 2.00 PM, had finally lost its will to scream. The oxygen had been sucked out. But Miller wasn't done yet. Off the fifth ball, he flicked another nothing ball for a boundary to seal it. His emotions — a visceral scream and punching the air — told how much it meant to him. That episode in Delhi had clearly hurt him and this was him setting the record straight.
Bought at the base price of `2cr at the last auction, it showed how teams had stopped valuing his presence in the middle at the end. For a finisher aged 36, that in itself would have come as a punch to the gut. In 2025, he was signed by Lucknow for `7.5 cr. This was of course a player who had cost Punjab `12.5cr in the past.
This is the Miller Delhi will want going forward. Apart from Miller, Tristan Stubbs and KL Rahul were very handy with the bat on a surface where run-scoring proved to be very tricky, especially with the old ball.
Delhi's third win of the season also ensured that the peloton wouldn't lose touch with the early pace-setters. For the hosts, whose batters struggled on the surface, it's not exactly back to the drawing board but a chance to iron a few kinks going forward. They have a lengthy break before their next game (April 24 versus Gujarat).
Brief scores: RCB 175/8 in 20 ovs (Salt 63; Axar 2/18, Kuldeep 2/32) lost to DC 179/4 (Stubbs 60 n.o, Rahul 57; Bhuvneshwar 3/26).