David Miller will eventually move on from this crushing defeat, but for now, the Delhi Capitals batter has to live with the pain of a decision that shaped one of the most dramatic finishes of IPL 2026. With DC needing two runs off the final two balls against the Gujarat Titans, Miller chose not to take a single when he was batting on 41. His refusal to rotate strike to Kuldeep Yadav, with Prasidh Krishna bowling the penultimate ball, proved costly in a chase of 211.

The final ball brought even more heartbreak. Miller missed his shot and tried to scramble for a single, but Jos Buttler’s sharp underarm throw found the stumps, and Kuldeep was run out. Delhi Capitals finished on 209/8, losing by a single run in a contest that swung on tiny margins.

Despite the criticism that followed, Sunil Gavaskar backed Miller’s call and argued that the South African batter should not be singled out for blame. Gavaskar felt Miller was simply backing his own ability after striking the ball cleanly in the previous overs.

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“Yes, he was backing himself to hit the winning runs, but having seen the way Kuldeep Yadav nudged that ball for a single off the first ball maybe he should have given Kuldeep the strike. He should have given the strike. This is all being wise after the event, but the fact remains that the way he had been hitting the previous over and that over as well, he believed that he could do it, simple as that. So you can’t fault him for that. He had the confidence that he could do it, but it didn’t come off because the ball that Prasidh Krishna bowled was an absolutely superb delivery,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

England great Kevin Pietersen also interpreted Miller’s mindset, saying the batter likely believed he could finish the chase himself rather than depend on Kuldeep.

“I think purely based on the fact that he thought that from that last delivery, he would guarantee to get one at least. And if not one, he would strike it out of the ground because he’s that good at striking the ball out of the ground,” Kevin Pietersen said.

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“Yes, they’ve tied the game, and yes, they’ve got the super over, but he thought from that final delivery, I’ll definitely get one. The worst case is one. I’m not going to miss it. Best case, I’ll get a 2-3-4-5-6. That’s where he was at,” he added.