The hosts, the Lucknow Super Giants, put up a respectable first innings total of 167/7, with Ayush Badoni emerging as the star player and recording his third IPL half-century.
With a record-breaking eighth wicket stand of 73 runs off just 42 deliveries, Badoni and Arshad Khan elevated the game to a new level from a terrible position of 94/7 in 13 overs. With a three-wicket haul claimed in the middle of the game, Kuldeep Yadav shone for the Delhi Capitals, trapping big-name players like Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, and KL Rahul.
With 62 runs scored in the powerplay, the visitors got off to a strong start. The Lucknow Super Giants bowlers showed signs of life at one point, giving up just 13 runs in overs 7 and 10. But, Australian teenager Jake Fraser-McGurk had other ideas. He scored his first IPL half-century in his debut match, one day after turning 22, giving DC the ideal return gift. Along for the ride was Rishabh Pant, who made a vital 41 off 24 before Shai Hope and Tristan Stubbs led DC to their second victory of the year with 11 deliveries remaining and six wickets taken.
ALSO READ: With the greatest eighth-wicket partnership in IPL history, Ayush Badoni and Arshad Khan
Talking Points
1. Ayush Badoni at last performs well at the bat
Following a dismal run of results that read 1, 8, 0, and 20, the Delhi-born batsman rose to the occasion against the Delhi-based team, saving them when he came in to bat following the departure of the well-established KL Rahul. He finished with his third IPL fifty, scoring 55* off 35.
2. DC worries about death bowling
Even though they got off to a respectable start with the new ball, players like Khaleel Ahmed, Ishant Sharma, and Mukesh Kumar have a tendency to give up a lot of runs. This time around, they are among the top scorers, giving up 15, 13, and 11 runs in the 18th, 19th, and 20th overs, respectively.
3. A different young person emerges for DC
Tristan Stubbs, a South African, has been in incredible form. Against the Kolkata Knight Riders, he quickly scored 54 runs, and against the Mumbai Indians, he amassed an incredible 71 runs. In his first IPL match, Jake Fraser-McGurk, a young Australian, looked every bit as impressive as Stubbs had in his previous two appearances. The 22-year-old scored an incredible 55 off 35 balls.
Who Said What?
Losing skipper KL Rahul:
“We were 15-20 short, should’ve capitalised to get 180. There was a bit of help for seamers, the odd-ball was keeping low, and Kuldeep put the brakes on our batting group. We fought till the end. McGurk, the new guy when he come in, was very unknown. We’ve watched a lot of videos of him but he hit the ball really well, credit to him. We walked in with the same kind of mindset, assess what the good areas, what pace works on this wicket and execute as well as we can.
We got Warner, and a couple after the powerplay. We were in the game till the 10th over, then a dropped catch, and then Rishabh-McGurk took it away from us. In hindsight, can wonder if we could’ve done something differently [with Pooran’s batting position]. Not much spin for Axar, so I thought Nicky P with the shots he has can put the opposition under pressure. We knew they had to bowl their spinners in that phase.
Mayank is not too bad, he looks good, feeling good, but we also want to make sure we don’t rush him back in too early. He’s young, we need to protect his body. He’s itching to go, we just have to pull him back a little, maybe a couple of more games before he comes back.”
Winning skipper Rishabh Pant:
“Relieved! Told the boys we need to think like champions, keep fighting hard. There have been phases where we’ve not been upto the mark with the ball but some individuals have to take responsibility. We have to stick together as a team. Problem we had is so many injuries in the camp. With 10 teams, difficult to get players. We can either make an excuse or learn. Most probably [we’ve found our No. 3], haven’t thought a lot yet. Take it one match at a time.”
Player of the Match Kuldeep Yadav:
“Wasn’t fit for a couple of games, got injured in the first game. Was difficult to see the team struggle in the middle overs. Credit to Patrick for maintaining me. All those were good wickets, when you get three in the middle overs and control the run rate as well as chasing the target, it’s good. I liked the first wicket, played a lot against Pooran. Execution was right, that was a good ball. I was clear with my plan, length matters a lot as a spinner. Irrespective of format, good length is good length.”
India
