IPL 2022: One-man demolition army Miller guides Gujarat home vs CSK

David Miller turned back the clock, almost singlehandedly pulling Gujarat Titans over the line from a dead-and-buried situation. Chasing 170 against Chennai Super Kings, the table-toppers were 48/4 in eight overs. The South African’s unbeaten 94 off 51 balls, with some timely help from stand-in skipper Rashid Khan, secured a three-wicket win with a ball to spare.
Miller shows the way
The last few IPL seasons have not been fruitful for Miller, and there was a feeling that his best days were behind him; that the clean striking that lighted many an Indian summer evening was beyond the left-hander now. He may have lost some consency but as he showed on Sunday, when Miller gets it right, he is a one-man demolition army.

What a knock this @DavidMillerSA12. Takes his team home as @gujarat_titans win 3 wickets.
Scorecard – https://t.co/53tJkfVxUY #GTvCSK #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/FLghysrL4G
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2022
He is known as a big hitter who relies more on timing than brute force, and at Pune’s MCA Stadium he made belligerence look beautiful. Titans were gasping for breath when he took charge. Shubman Gill had gone for a golden duck, hitting a short wide ball straight to point before Maheesh Theekshana’s mystery spin was too much for Vijay Shankar and Abhinav Manohar. It all seemed lost, despite Miller’s lone stand, when Rashid Khan joined the party.

A fine FIFTY from @DavidMillerSA12 👏👏
His 11th in #TATAIPL
Live – https://t.co/53tJkfVxUY #GTvCSK #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/WXVnbB34VK
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2022
Going into the last three overs, 48 were needed and Miller needed support. This is when Rashid unleashed the MS Dhoni in him in the form of helicopter shots. His strong wrs sent the ball to boundaries on both sides of the wicket as Chris Jordan went for 25 runs in the 18th over.

WATCH – 6,6,4 – @DavidMillerSA12 goes SMASH on Ravindra Jadeja 💥💥💥
📽️📽️https://t.co/kZvx3NsVBe #GTvCSK #TATAIPL
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2022
The Afghan started the 19th, bowled Dwayne Bravo, with a boundary, and though he was dismissed soon after, the task remaining was well within Miller’s grasp.

Whatttdddfaaggg baseball swing is this! Rashid Khan chowdary garu 😅👏🏻👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/xH3t6DEL5m
— Neeraj Paul Sade (@yelanavvaali) April 17, 2022
Gaikwad repays faith
Ruturaj Gaikwad may have been lucky to still be in the playing XI. The lack of runs at the top was hurting CSK in the forgettable start to their title defence, and Gaikwad had not been pulling his weight.
The out-of-touch opener needed some luck upfront and got just that, when a Mohammed Shami nip-backer took the inside edge of Gaikwad’s bat, just eluded the stumps and didn’t give Wriddhiman Saha a chance behind the wicket.

He is out but he is back in form!
Incredible knock from Ruturaj Gaikwad who walks back after scoring a valuable 73(48)
CSK are now 4 down for 135 in 17 overs – CSK score predictions anyone? #GTvCSK #TATAIPL #IPL2022
Follow the game here https://t.co/53tJkfV05q pic.twitter.com/HrFD2gmU9T
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2022
Gaikwad was struggling to put bat to ball initially, but the Gujarat Titans bowlers made the make of bowling short, allowing him to access cow corner with the horizontal bat.After two early wickets, Gaikwad found an able ally in Ambati Rayudu and their 92-run stand in just over nine overs steadied the ship as well as provided momentum.
Lockie Ferguson has been one of Titans’ shining lights, but had an off day and was peppered to the legside boundary on several occasions. With their talismanic skipper Hardik Pandya sitting out due to a groin niggle (Rashid led in his absence), replacement Alzarri Joseph and youngster Yash Dayal didn’t follow the script. The back-of-length deliveries often didn’t rise above the wa, allowing Gaikwad to swat them away easily.
Shami ‘seams’ in control
As it comes towards the batsman, the seam of a Shami delivery is dead straight, giving no indication of which way the ball will deviate after pitching. He has not been considered a hotshot T20 performer, but with the new ball (he bowled three overs in the Powerplay) and then towards the end, Shami put the squeeze on the Titans batsmen when everyone around him was going for runs.

A successful review from @gujarat_titans as @MdShami11 gets the early breakthrough 👏👏
CSK lose Robin Uthappa.
Follow the game ➡️ https://t.co/FANQik7LP4#TATAIPL #GTvCSK pic.twitter.com/XzXF08bBRq
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 17, 2022
Robin Uthappa tried to hit across the line, and was trapped plumb in front. Figures of 1/20 from his four overs, when the other bowlers combined to concede 149 in 16 overs, puts Shami’s performance in perspective. He rarely went for the yorker. It was generally a hard Test-match length for him, but the immaculate line and threat of just enough movement either way kept batsmen honest.
It was a strong bowling line-up that the Titans fielded in this game, but it was only Shami who came to the party.
Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 169/5 in 20 overs (Gaikwad 73; Joseph 2/34) lost to Gujarat Titans 170/7 in 19.5 overs (Miller 94; Bravo 3/23) 3 wickets