Pune (Maharashtra): After taking Gujarat Titans to victory with his four-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals, pacer Lockie Ferguson said that having a potent bowling unit, makes things easier for him. Shubman Gill's 84-run knock and Lockie Ferguson's four-wicket haul guide Gujarat Titans to a 14-run win against Delhi Capitals here at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday.
"Was one of those nights and with the kind of bowling partners I have, makes things very easy for me. It's great (to have a potent bowling unit) and helps to spread calmness in the group. The pressure was coming from both ends with the ball and it worked for us. I think it (bowling extra fast) is more of an instinct thing," said Ferguson in a post-match presentation.
"There was a lot of bounce in the surface and I was looking to bang away on that hard length. Some gripped and it worked for me with Rishabh's wicket. Was a good all-around performance from the bowlers. Hardik is always giving us confidence to play the game that we want to play and it's nice to have a captain who trusts your skills," he added.
Chasing 172-run target Delhi Capitals did not get an ideal start as skipper Hardik Pandya dismissed Tim Seifert in the very first ball of his bowling spell. In the fourth over Lockie Ferguson was introduced into the attack and the Kiwi pacer struck twice dismissing Prithvi Shaw for 10 and Mandeep Singh for 18 to leave Delhi tottering at 34/3.
Delhi needed a partnership and captain Rishabh Pant along with Lalit Yadav did exactly that taking the team's total beyond the 50-run mark in the seventh over. Pant-Yadav pair struck a fifty run partnership in just 34 balls. The 61-run partnership was broken as Lalit Yadav was run out for 25 to leave Delhi at 95/4.
Rovman Powell joined his captain and Pant batted aggressively to take Delhi's total beyond the triple-figure mark. Ferguson got his third wicket of the match getting the prized scalp of Pant for 43 from 29 balls. In the same over Ferguson got his fourth wicket dismissing all-rounder Axar Patel for 8 caught behind by keeper Matthew Wade to leave Delhi in trouble at 126/6.
Also read: IPL 2022: Gill's imperious 84 powers Titans to 171 for 6 against DC
In the next over Rashid Khan dismissed Shardul Thakur leg before wicket for 2. In the 18th over Mohammed Shami came back into the attack to strike two blows of two balls first dismissing Rovman Powell leg before wicket and then Khaleel Ahmed for a golden duck caught by keeper Wade to reduce Delhi to 143/9. Delhi managed to score 157/9 in 20 overs falling short by 14 runs as Hardik Pandya-led side Gujarat Titans registered their second win in two matches of the season.
ANI
