GT vs DC: Steyn says Ishant’s dismissal of Shankar ‘best knuckle ball wicket’

South African pace legend Dale Steyn heaped praise on Ishant Sharma on Tuesday, calling his knuckle ball to dismiss Vijay Shankar the “best he had ever seen”.

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Ishant played a key role in helping Delhi Capitals successfully defend a modest 130-run total in their match against table leaders Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday.

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The veteran India seamer grabbed 2/23 from four overs as DC, currently ranked at the bottom of the table and on the verge of bowing out of the playoffs race, managed to hold their nerve and edge the defending champions out in a low-scoring thriller. Both of Ishant’s wickets came off slower deliveries, but it was the one to dismiss Shankar that caught Steyn’s eye.

“Okay, Ishant just bowled the best knuckle ball wicket I’ve ever seen!” Steyn, who is part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad coaching staff, wrote on Tuesday.

Ishant struck after Khaleel Ahmed and Anrich Nortje removed GT openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, deceiving Shankar with a slower ball measuring 119 kmph that started off from around middle but managed to beat the batter’s outside edge with a hint of away movement and crashed into timber. Shankar, expected a quicker delivery, was drawn into a flick that ended up proving costly for him.

Sharma would later bowl a superb final over after Gujarat were left needing 12 off the last six balls following a hat-trick of sixes by Rahul Tewatia off Nortje, with skipper Hardik Pandya batting on 56 for company. Pandya could collect a brace and single off the first two deliveries.

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Sharma followed it up with a dot off the third before deceiving the hard-hitting Tewatia with the slower ball, the all-rounder offering Rilee Rossouw a sitter in the cover region.

Sharma then closed out the over with a brace and a single to cap off a memorable victory for the Capitals — their third of the season in nine outings.

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