David Miller said it “feels really good” after turning disappointment into momentum, landing a memorable finish for Delhi Capitals against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. With the chase hanging in the balance, Miller delivered a statement final over, launching 6, 6, and 4 off Romario Shepherd to bring DC over the line in a tense run chase.
Miller also looked back at the timing of his turnaround. He admitted he had been “disappointed” earlier in the season when DC couldn’t get over the line against Gujarat Titans about ten days ago, despite needing two runs off two balls. After this victory, he framed the result as a long-awaited correction. “It feels really good, to get one for the other night,” he said after the win. “I was disappointed a couple of games ago, but to get ourselves back in that position, feels good to get over the line.”
He added that the memory of missed opportunities can linger, but this time the outcome landed in the team’s favour. “It’s always going to be there at the back of the mind until you actually win another game. I’ll take it,” Miller said.
The chase narrowed dramatically in the final moments. DC still needed 15 from the last over when Shepherd began with two singles off the first two deliveries. That briefly eased the pressure, before Miller regained control at the crease with 13 needed off four balls. Miller then struck the ball cleanly, clearing the ropes over midwicket and the covers before finishing the chase with the winning runs.
Miller’s innings began under unusual circumstances. He arrived when Delhi required 42 off 25 balls, with captain Axar Patel having to retire hurt due to cramps. That interruption set the stage for a pivotal association at the crease, as Miller and Tristan Stubbs put together a match-defining 45-run stand. Still, the flow wasn’t smooth early on, with stoppages and Bengaluru’s bowling making life difficult through consistent yorkers. According to Miller, Stubbs’ message helped him shift gears. “Keep your intensity high,” Stubbs told him, and that reminder seemed to unlock his rhythm.
Speaking about the tempo of the innings, Miller explained how the situation kept swinging. “Batting where I did, there was a lot of stop and starts this game. It felt like you couldn’t get going, and then there was break in play a lot of times,” he said. “Mind’s got a bit scrambled, but when I walked in there, Stubbo said to me, ‘keep your intensity really high.’ For me, that helped a lot, which kicked me into a good frame of mind.”
He also pointed to the early part of the over that produced the final flourish. “First six balls [I faced], they bowled well, six yorkers to me and I couldn’t get going, but chuffed that it came off in the last six balls,” Miller said, underlining how the finishing stretch arrived after a tough start.
Even though DC ultimately closed the contest on the penultimate delivery, their broader approach had been to wrap it up earlier than that. Bengaluru’s bowlers were sharply accurate, but there was a boundary in both the 18th and 19th overs when the required rate was climbing past 12 an over. Miller and Stubbs also made sure Delhi didn’t go quiet after the 17th over, which kept the equation within reach and left DC only a couple of boundary shots away from sealing the match.
Miller described how the team calculated the challenge over the closing phase. “We were trying to finish it in the second-to-last over, but we needed 40-odd runs [41] in the last four overs, we always knew there was one, two sixes within a six and back-to-back fours and the bowler’s always under pressure from there,” he said. “I was just trying to limit the dot balls, and when the boundary ball comes, you capitalise. It was trying to stay calm, keep communicating with the partner and take it deep as we go.”
He concluded by praising Stubbs’ role in stabilising the chase after Patel’s exit. “It’s always good finishing off games with Stubbo. He just said, ‘thanks so much, you saved me there.’ He batted unbelievably well, anchored the innings all the way through. He’s got a great technique and he’s powerful. Him being there was massive for us. Coming in when I did, you gotta take the lead and try and be more on the aggressive side. But just, job well done.”
