Kuldeep, Ishant help Delhi Capitals fashion a famous win over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023

There are so many bowlers who try to do so much in T20 cricket. They try different angles, different actions, bring in changes of pace and length too.

But it is when you watch Mohammed Shami bowl that you realise that bowling, even in the frenzy of T20, is still about doing the simple things right.

Delhi Capitals players celebrate their win in the IPL 2023 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals (PTI)

That doesn't mean it is easy. Sometimes you can get drawn into the unnecessary stuff and that is where Shami stands out. He still does the right things -- lands the ball on the seam, bowls a great length and finds the line that has the batters in two minds.

The lessons learned from Shami's spell weren't lost on the bowlers of Delhi Capitals as they kept things simple and tight to fashion a brilliant come-from-behind win in Ahmedabad on Tuesday night.

After restricting Delhi Capitals to 130/8 thanks to a superb spell by Shami, defending champions Gujarat Titans stuttered in their chase despite an unbeaten 59 by skipper Hardik Pandya to lose by five runs in a tight finish.

Electing to bat, Delhi Capitals were in big trouble when they were reduced to 23/5 with Shami running riot. The GT pacer struck in the first over -- with not his greatest delivery -- as Phil Salt smashed it straight to the fielder. DC were 1/0 after one ball and it rapidly went downhill after that.

Things got worse when DC skipper David Warner was run out in the second over. He had a mix-up with Priyam Garg and was left stranded in the middle. To add salt to his wounds, the ball was later declared a no-ball.

At the toss, Warner had said DC wanted to bat first and put runs on the board. But it just didn't play out in that manner.

Shami next accounted for Rilee Rossouw, who had come in for Mitchell Marsh. The left-hander shaped up to play a defensive shot but was opened up as the ball left him. The edge flew to Wriddhiman Saha behind the wicket.

Before DC could catch their breath, Shami struck twice in his third over to send back Manish Pandey and Garg, and in the process reduced DC to 23/5.

Shami's Powerplay performance was nothing short of brilliant. Hardik Pandya bowled out the pacer in one go and his bowling figures showed just how good he was: 4-0-11-4, ER 2.75, 19 dots, just one four conceded.

He is making a habit of striking quickly for his team. Shami has taken 12 wickets in Powerplay in this IPL and that ensures the opposition is always looking to make up for lost ground.

At that point, it almost seemed like the game-over screen was flashing, but Axar Patel and Aman Khan put together a 50-run stand off 54 balls to give the innings a semblance of respectability. Aman, who top-scored with a measured 51, also put on 53 runs with Ripal Patel and that helped Capitals reach 130/8.

It wasn't a winning total but it was one that gave them a chance.

In reply, Gujarat didn't get off to the best of starts. Saha and Shubman Gill fell courtesy of loose shots, Vijay Shankar was foxed by a knuckle ball from Ishant Sharma and David Miller was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. The wickets pegged back GT.

According to CricViz, Ahmedabad has been the toughest venue to bat in Powerplay — batters average only 21 and score at 6.37 runs per over. But DC kept things tight even after that thanks to a miserly spell of 4-0-15-1 by Kuldeep.

A 62-run stand between Pandya and Abhinav Manohar kept GT in the match but going into the last three overs, Titans needed 37 off 18 balls.

After a good over by Khaleel Ahmed, the equation became 33 off 12. Rahul Tewatia did a Tewatia on DC by hitting three consecutive sixes off Anrich Nortje to leave GT needing 12 off the last 6 balls.

However, Ishant Sharma bowled a measured last over -- trusting his stock deliveries and double bluffing the batters -- to seal Delhi's third win of the season and cap what was clearly a bowler's day out in the IPL.