'I can't fathom it': Ashwin left 'baffled' by David Miller’s decision in DC’s one-run defeat

Ahmedabad, May – Ravichandran Ashwin has delivered an unsparing critique of David Miller’s refusal to take a single on the penultimate ball of Delhi Capitals’ chase, a moment that preceded the run-out of Kuldeep Yadav and condemned the Capitals to a gut-wrenching one-run defeat against Gujarat Titans.

With two required off the final delivery, Miller blocked Prasidh Krishna’s slower ball and set off for a hopeless bye; Jos Buttler’s direct hit found Kuldeep short and sent the Titans into delirious celebrations. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin admitted he is still struggling to process the South African’s calculation.

“I am thinking what could have happened to Kuldeep and David Miller. If I was Kuldeep, I would have pushed him to the other end. I can’t understand. I can’t fathom it. It is just beyond me. It is bonkers,” Ashwin said. “You need two runs. What are the odds? You can take one run. Kuldeep will at least get on strike. Even if he gets bowled, in a 210 game you’ve earned a Super Over.”

The former Delhi Capitals spinner argued the decision did double damage: eroding the squad’s self-belief while handing the Titans a lifeline they scarcely deserved. “One, you have shaken the confidence of your team. Two, you’ve let Gujarat come back into the tournament thinking, ‘How do we reach from here?’ You gave them a lifeline while you’re still stuck at four points,” Ashwin concluded.

Miller, who had dragged the equation down with a sequence of late boundaries, left the field visibly distraught; Ashwin’s verdict suggests the repercussions could echo well beyond the final scorecard.