David Miller shown zero compassion despite heartbreak: ‘If I were Kuldeep, I would have pushed him and taken the single’

Ravichandran Ashwin can't make head, nor tail of David Miller's decision to deny strike to Kuldeep Yadav.

It took three weeks, but the first real humdinger of the 2026 Indian Premier League finally arrived on Wednesday night when the outcome of the Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals match was decided in the last ball of the contest. The Titans posted 210, but the Capitals threatened to run away with the game when, first, KL Rahul and, later, David Miller appeared to be in control of the chase. However, what was expected to finish with a bang ended in a whimper when Miller and DC made a meal of it, failing to knock off two runs in two balls.

David Miller couldn't believe what he had done (PTI)

Miller’s decision to deny Kuldeep Yadav has drawn widespread criticism. While greats such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen have defended him, the South Africa batter has mostly been bashed for his call. Harbhajan Singh, Dale Steyn and Ambati Rayudu couldn’t make sense of it, and now joining the bandwagon is former India spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, who’s shown zero compassion for Miller despite the heartbreak.

“Had I been Kuldeep, I would have pushed him to the other end and completed the single. I can’t understand; I can’t fathom. It is beyond me; it is bonkers. Because if you needed four or six runs, it would have been understandable. But they needed two runs. What are the odds? You could have taken a single. Kuldeep could have touched and run. And if not, even if Kuldeep was bowled, to take a 210-run chase into a Super Over means you’ve done well,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Why Miller why?

Only Miller knows what he was up to. Until that dreaded call, Gujarat Titans’ shoulders had dropped; it was almost as if they had given up, knew it was a foregone conclusion from there. But the dot ball sparked a spring in their steps, and rightfully so, with Prasidh’s bouncer emerging as the perfect last ball. Miller missed connection, Kuldeep took off, got run out, and DC snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Miller was a broken man inside the dressing room, as he sat alone, distraught and struggling to hold back tears, before coach Hemang Badani comforted him. DC captain Axar Patel stood up for Miller, but even he would know it was a victory they let go of. What could have been a third straight victory ended in a bitter loss.