Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs’s superlative effort at either ends of the batting innings gave DC a 200-plus total before Ishant Sharma derailed LSG’s chase. LSG still tried to catch up via Nicholas Pooran and Arshad Khan but fell short eventually. As a consequence of this result, Rajasthan Royals are through to the playoffs. Ishant Sharma‘s 3 wicket burst in the powerplay derailed Lucknow’s hope of qualifying to the playoffs even though they fall 19 runs short of Delhi’s total.
Ishant Sharma with the ball ripped through LSG early on with three wickets and even though Pooran and Arshad tried their best, LSG kept losing wickets at the other end and eventually fell short. On a high-scoring surface, DC had to post 200 or above to have a shot at collecting two points. After being asked to bat, Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs shone with fifties to power DC to 208 for 4. Ishant Sharma’s 3 for 34 in the Powerplay dented LSGs hope of chasing a mammoth total.
Pitch and Toss
“It is a small and high-scoring ground. To the one side 60 meters and slightly bigger 66 meters on the other. There is a bit of breeze as well blowing across the ground. This pitch no. 6 and it is a high-scoring pitch. The length ball flies out of the ground. The average score is over 250 runs. But we have to see since it is reused will it be the same,” questions Graeme Swann. There’s a bit of sheen and it is more of the same. Batting first has helped over here,” concludes Murali Kartik.
Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul won the toss and chose to field. LSG had couple of changes bringing in Arshad Khan and Mohsin Khan for Yash Thakur and Krishnappa Gowtham. Delhi Capital skipper Rishabh Pant back into the squad for Kumar Kushagra also made one more change batting first bringing in Gulbadin Naib for David Warner.
Abhishek Porel, Shai Hope power through despite Lucknow getting Fraser-McGurk early
KL Rahul was instantly rewarded for placing a long-on for Jake Fraser-McGurk as the Aussie found the fielder in his first big hit in the first over to fall for a duck. Abhishek Porel and Shai Hope quickly moved on, with the former hitting three fours off Mohsin Khan in the second over.
Arshad Khan, who dismissed the opener was hit for three fours and a six in a 21-run over by Porel. Hope decided to then match his young batting partner for shots and went after Yudhvir Singh with two fours and a six to bring up DC’s 50 in just 4 overs. Porel continued to swing for the fences successfully, as he hit four of the five sixes that DC hit in this period.
DC lost their aggressive opener Jake Fraser-McGurk in the first over when he was caught at long-on off the left-arm quick Arshad. But Porel and Shai Hope didn’t let the wicket slow them down. After smashing six off Mohsin Khan, Porel pummeled three fours and a six in Arshad’s second over.
In the following over, Hope targeted Yudhvir Singh and hit 4,4, and 6. By the end of four overs, DC had raced to 51 for 1. The duo didn’t spare Naveen-ul-Haq either as he ended up conceding 17 runs off his first over. DC ended the powerplay on 73 for 1, with Porel batting on 43 off 16.
Ravi Bishnoi applies the brakes in the middle overs
Porel brought up a 21-ball fifty but this phase belonged to the bowling side thanks to a relatively miserly spell of bowling from Ravi Bishnoi (1 for 26). The leggie used pace and his often used variation – the googly – to good effect as DC slowed down. Bishnoi also ended the flourishing second-wicket stand by dismissing Hope.
Rahul brought back Naveen after his expensive first over in the PowerPlay and the Afghan struck straightaway to end Porel’s excellent essay at 58 off 33 – with 5 fours and 4 sixes. Rishabh Pant got a couple of fours off Krunal but Mohsin Khan bowled a five-run over to keep the lid on the scoring.
Porel raced to his fifty in 21 balls but hit only eight runs off his next 12 balls, thanks to LSG’s spinners who exerted pressure in the middle overs. Rahul brought in Ravi Bishnoi immediately after the powerplay and bowled Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda from the other end.
Bishnoi broke the 92-run second-wicket stand between Porel and Hope in the ninth over, when Hope thrashed a full-length wide delivery straight to cover, where Rahul took a stunning low catch to dismiss him for a 27-ball 38. After only 17 came off the next 15 balls, Porel fell to Naveen’s slower ball, trying to go big. Bishnoi finished with 1 for 26 from his four overs, as DC accumulated just 42 runs from overs 7 to 12.
Tristan Stubbs pushes DC past 200 in 20 overs
Tristan Stubbs went into the 16th over on 7 (9) and finished with an unbeaten 57 (25), tonking away to push DC past the 200-run mark. He started by whacking an Arshad Khan delivery and ended that over with two successive fours. Naveen-ul-Haq saw the back of the DC skipper in the 17th over but Stubbs continued to throw his bat around as he added 50 with Axar Patel, who contributed just 10 to the alliance.
Even Mohsin Khan, who bowled three good overs copped the South African’s fury, as he smashed a six and four off him. Far more was in store for Naveen, who conceded two sixes and a four in his last over to finish with a forgettable spell of 2 for 51. Stubbs now has the most runs in the death-overs this IPL (252 @ SR of 262.5).
After 15 overs, DC were 136 for 3 and the 200 mark looked far away. But they still had Stubbs. After scoring seven off his first nine deliveries, he took off, first smashing Arshad for two fours and a six in the 16th over and then Naveen for two sixes and a four in the 19th to get to his fifty in 22 balls. His unbeaten 57 off 25, and a quickfire 33 from Rishabh Pant, lifted DC to 208 for 4, with 72 runs coming off the final five overs.
LSG lose four but Pooran tees off as Ishant Sharma wrecks havoc in powerplay
KL Rahul miscued his first big shot of the match to fall in the first over from Ishant Sharma, who was getting the ball to swing. Ishant Sharma then took out the struggling Quinton de Kock with a slower one that the South African hit to mid-on. Marcus Stoinis thought of laying down the marker against spin and gave Axar the charge first ball, and was stumped.
Nicholas Pooran walked out next and took advantage of the favorable match-up he enjoyed against left-arm spinners as he tonked two sixes and two fours in the same over. Ishant Sharma then dismissed Deepak Hooda next over to continue to make big dents on the tall chase.
Ishant Sharma, the Impact Player, made an impact straightaway, removing three big guns – Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda – in his first three overs. Axar Patel’s dismissal of Marcus Stoinis – stumped by Pant – meant LSG were reeling at 44 for 4 in no time. Ishant Sharma’s 3 wickets was a reason why LSG faltered in the powerplay . Ishant Sharma stood out as a bowler DC looked to deliver in the powerplay.
DC lose wickets and their way but Pooran kept hope alive with counter attacking 50
Pooran started the phase by switch-hitting Kuldeep Yadav for a six before getting to 20-ball 50 in the ninth over even as Ayush Badoni departed just before. The Pooran vs DC mini-duel carried on past the halfway stage until a sharp, low one-handed take from Axar at cover off Mukesh Kumar ended the fantastic knock at 61 off just 27 balls (6×4,4×6).
Arshad Khan and Krunal Pandya threw their bats around for 23 runs in the next two overs to show this chase didn’t end with Pooran’s exit, but DC bit back by making inroads. In his last over, Kuldeep had Axar out stumped, leaving the lower order to chase 74 off 30.
Despite the early blows, LSG were still in the game thanks to Pooran’s big hitting. He hit Axar for 4, 6, 4, 6 just after the left-arm spinner had removed Stoinis off his first ball. He went on to smash four more fours and two more sixes after that over – this included a reverse-sweep over extra cover for a six off Kuldeep Yadav.
At the halfway stage, LSG were 97 for 5. Pooran, however, fell to Mukesh Kumar’s slower short ball, angled away from his hitting arc, slicing it to Axar at extra cover to depart for a 27-ball 61. At 101 for 6, it seemed like LSG had lost control of the chase.
Arshad Khan’s 58 (33) in vain as LSG loses to DC by 19 runs
Arshad Khan dragged the chase all the way to the end but couldn’t close it out as LSG just didn’t have enough batters to snare the big equation. Yudhvir Singh hit a six and four off Rasikh Salam but fell at the end of the next over from Khaleel in which Arshad hit two sixes and a four. LSG were eight down but the equation was a gettable 42 off 18.
Arshad went after Salam once again to take it down to 29 off 12 but Mukesh Kumar bowled a fine penultimate over, where Ravi Bishnoi was run out and only six runs were hit. Arshad still took strike to try and fetch 23 off the last six. Salam did well to deny him that.
There was more entertainment when Arshad came out all guns blazing. Striking at 175.5, the left-hand batter muscled five sixes and three fours to keep LSG in the game till the very end. His unbeaten knock brought down the equation to 29 off the last 12. But Mukesh and Rasikh finished with two excellent overs at the death, denying him any more boundaries, and LSG fell 19 short of DC’s total.
Presentations and Road Ahead.
KL Rahul the loosing skipper said :
“I feel the wicket remained the same throughout the 40 overs. When we got JFM out in the first over we should have capitalized, but they – Hope and Porel – showed a lot of intent. We did well at the back end and 200 was a par total, we should have chased it down,”
“This has been a problem right through the season – we keep losing a lot of wickets in the powerplay, we never get a solid start to get the likes of Stoinis and Pooran in, that is the big reason why we are in this position,”
Rishabh Pant the winning skipper said :
“Definitely Pooran was giving us a hard time. We had certain plans. The total was good enough. We kept on bowling good balls. I would say the start of the season was with a lot of hopes. Some injuries. We are still in contention even after the last game,”
“We had a better chance of qualifying if I would have had a chance to play in the last game. Personally, it was fantastic to come back. Was heartening to see the support from entire India. Was a long time to wait after one-and-a-half years. I want to be on the field all the time. Don’t want to miss any action,”
Ishant Sharma Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said:
“The last few games I was trying to bowl a knuckle ball. Even in the last game I got Virat out and today KL. I don’t think much. I take it as it comes everyday. If my body is alright, I should thank Patrick [Farhart]. I had some injuries. After the defeats, we were positive and there was belief as well. If you win close games, it gives you confidence to take the momentum forward,”
DC will be pleased that they have signed off with a win here. Technically, they might still make it but their NRR is too much in the negative for them to have realistic hopes of making it to the next round. Only if they had Pant for the last game and they could have performed better. Things might have been a little different for them. LSG needed 209 for a win and they were never in the chase. They lost four in the powerplay and that kind of dented them in the chase. Ishant Sharma the wrecker in chief with 3 wickets in the powerplay.
Pooran then sparkled like he has in the entire season and scored 61 off 27 balls. His dismissal would have meant it was all over for LSG but they unearthed a new talent in the form of Arshad Khan. His 58 off 33 balls kept LSG in the game even till the 19th over. But DC just about held their nerves to clinch it. A loss here might have just closed the road for LSG. They would be gutted. Their NRR took a beating in the game against SRH and now this loss.
That should be it for DC and LSG for the season. LSG though have a game in hand but they have too much to do and even mathematical help won’t be enough. Same goes for DC who though have wrapped their campaign up with a win. RR are through as mentioned earlier. SRH have two more games and would need one win to confirm their play-offs spot.
RCB vs CSK might well turn out to be a winner takes the last spot kind of a game. IPL usually on the last lap is frenetic and that’s exactly what’s happening now. Every result ensuring the calculators are pulled out and the permutations and combinations are done.
Delhi Capitals signed off the league stage with a 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in Delhi, and kept themselves in contention for a top-four finish, even if only mathematically. LSG, with one more game left against Mumbai Indians, aren’t out of the running either, but both teams will have to depend on other results to go their way if they are to make the top four.
DC’s league stage is done. They now wait for the slim chance of other results going their way to an extent that can nudge them up to fourth. LSG take on MI at Wankhede on May 17 with their hopes too hanging by the thinnest of threads.