DC vs GT: What was David Miller thinking – and why wasn’t he running?

New Delhi: “What was he thinking?”. ‘What is he doing?’ ‘Why isn’t he running?’ These questions have come into sharp focus after Delhi Capitals lost by one run to Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL 2026.The “he” in the question is David Miller. The South African batsman endured a whirlwind experience at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!First, while on defense, he injured his right hand when he dived to prevent Syed Sudarsan from breaking through a cover on the practice field.After trying to shake off that, he started batting, but the effect became too obvious after just 10 balls in a 211-run chase. By the time he dove for the crease, the blow had intensified further.At that time, DC were 130/3 and required 81 off 42 balls while KL Rahul required 69 off 37 balls. When Miller reappeared, D.C. had just lost Tristan Stubbs, and the equation on the scoreboard was: 20 balls needed for 51. Three balls later, Rahul received the ball from outside Mohammad Siraj Goalkeeper Jos Buttler tapped the inside edge with ease.The burden and responsibility suddenly shifted to the ragged and bruised 36-year-old Miller.When play resumed, he made just 6 of 3 field goals as the required field goal percentage surged to 18.00. This is the turning point of the game.Miller hit a six, a four and a six off Mohammed Siraj, the pacer conceding 23 runs in the penultimate innings to make the score even closer. GT was further aided by a penalty for going too slow, forcing an extra fielder to return to the circle.When Miller got his chance in the final, a 6-goal 13 turned into a 3-goal 8. The next ball, Prasidh Krishna went around the wicket and pitched it into the arc and ended up being duly punished in the third tier of the stadium for six. A huge impact of 106 meters!Then comes the moment that confuses everyone and ends up being discussed for weeks. A pull shot to deep square leg, Miller denied a single and Washington needed two from two balls. If they complete the run to safety, Kuldeep Yadav will be asked to complete the over, or at least force a super over.Instead, DC failed to add to their tally and fell behind by one run when Prasidh bowled the final ball under pressure.The unfinished terminatorA few days ago, when Kings XI Punjab took on Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming claimed that there was no spot for the No. 20 spot.“Look, I don’t think there is such a thing as a finisher anymore. From the first ball, everyone goes at batting pace. It’s not ‘build up to 16th over and then go harder’. Everyone works hard from the first ball. So 10, 11, 12 run rates are expected all the way through and you don’t really hit the big peak at the end,” he said.DC’s pursuit, while unsuccessful, disproved this theory. If Delhi Capitals score 10.5 overs in the powerplay and 8.77 overs in the middle, they up the ante to 13.40 overs in the last five overs. Siraj scored 16 points in the 16th inning, and Siraj scored 23 points in the 19th inning – the joint-highest score of the night.Returning to the question of Miller’s decision not to run, no one has an adequate answer. Gill believes they have a “chance of winning.” captain dc Axar Patel Said things could go in any direction. “I think a close game like this, you know, you can point to anything. So I thought, yeah, we played really well. Like I said before, in a close game, in a close chase, you can point to a lot of things. But I think in the chase, I think we can play smarter,” Aksa said.“We haven’t discussed it yet, but it happens sometimes in cricket,” DC opener Pathum Nissankar said at the post-match press conference without revealing much. Rashid KhanA man of the match, he was glad he wasn’t in Miller’s position.Miller was going through things that only he could best explain. One can only hazard a guess from the outside. But internally, DC will lament the loss of this golden opportunity.