After three weeks of anticipation, the 2026 Indian Premier League finally produced its first proper nail-biter on Wednesday night, with Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals locked in a finish that swung on the very last delivery. Gujarat put up 210 runs, looking set for a comfortable platform, but Delhi’s chase had all the hallmarks of a chase that would simply unravel the contest—first through KL Rahul’s command and then through David Miller, who appeared to be steering the Titans’ bowling into submission. Yet what looked destined to end in fireworks turned into a cruel ending, as Miller and Delhi failed to land the required two runs off the final two balls.
Once the dust settled, attention quickly moved to Miller’s call that denied Kuldeep Yadav the chance to complete the single. The decision has drawn heavy criticism across the cricket world. Big names such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen have defended the South Africa batter, but a large majority of voices have been unconvinced. Harbhajan Singh, Dale Steyn and Ambati Rayudu also questioned the reasoning, and now former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has joined the chorus, offering no sympathy for Miller despite the obvious heartbreak that followed.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said he would have handled the moment differently. “Had I been Kuldeep, I would have pushed him to the other end and completed the single. I can’t understand; I can’t fathom. It is beyond me; it is bonkers. Because if you needed four or six runs, it would have been understandable. But they needed two runs. What are the odds? You could have taken a single. Kuldeep could have touched and run. And if not, even if Kuldeep was bowled, to take a 210-run chase into a Super Over means you’ve done well,” Ashwin added, highlighting how the margin for error in a two-run scenario could have been handled far more safely.
As for Miller’s thinking, only he truly knows what he was trying to achieve in the final seconds. But the sequence of events clearly shifted the momentum in Gujarat’s favour. Before that tense call, the Titans’ body language suggested they were losing their grip—almost as if the result had already slipped away. Then the dot ball arrived, and with it, a renewed jolt for the defending side. The last over’s final act belonged to Prasidh, whose bouncer proved to be the decisive ball of the match. Miller failed to connect, Kuldeep took off, and the chase ended with a run-out—Delhi Capitals somehow turning a winning position into defeat.
The emotional toll was visible inside the dressing room as well. Miller sat alone, visibly shaken and struggling to keep back tears, before coach Hemang Badani stepped in to console him. Delhi captain Axar Patel backed Miller publicly, but even he would have understood how this was a victory that slipped away rather than one that was outplayed. What could have been Delhi’s third straight win instead became one of those losses that lingers for a long time.
