Opener Jake Fraser-McGurk smashes 27-ball 84 at an impressive strike-rate of 311.11 to help DC post record 257-4 at Kotla as visitors fall short by 10 runs for sixth defeat in nine games
Mumbai Indians’s top-scorer Tilak Varma on his knees after being dismissed for 63 against Delhi Capitals at Kotla on Saturday. Pic/PTI
Jake Fraser-McGurk produced a power-hitting master class as Delhi Capitals (DC) kept themselves in the race for IPL playoffs with a 10-run win over Mumbai Indians (MI) here on Saturday.
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Bringing his big-hitting prowess to the fore, young McGurk gave the scorching Delhi heat competition with a sizzling 27-ball 84, powering DC to a massive 257 for four after being asked to bat.
Rasikh Salam claims three
Tilak Varma (63) and Hardik Pandya (46) played some lofty shots to give MI a glimmer of hope, but DC bowlers, led by Rasikh Salam (3-34), kept striking at regular intervals to stop MI at 247-9.
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DC’s Jake Fraser-McGurk in full flow against MI at Kotla on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The win elevated DC to the fifth spot, while MI continued to occupy the penultimate place.
While McGurk sparkled upfront, Tristan Stubbs dazzled with an unbeaten 48 off 25 balls at the death overs as DC put up a superlative batting effort to register their highest-ever score in IPL.
In reply, MI’s script didn’t go as per plan as Khaleel Ahmed drew first blood in the form of Rohit Sharma (8).
With more than 250 runs to score, MI batters had to go from the word go and that led to Ishan Kishan (20) and Suryakumar Yadav’s (26) wickets.
Three wickets down and the required run rate increasing, Pandya took things in his own hands, plundering 19 runs of the ninth over by DC star spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
He punched three fours before launching the ball for a towering six over long-on. Tilak Varma joined in with a boundary and a six off Axar Patel as the duo stitched a 71-run stand.
But Impact Player Salam not only broke the partnership, claiming Pandya’s wicket, but also got rid of Nehal Wadhera in the same over.
Varma then found an ally in Tim David, but he was run out in the final over.
With six defeats in nine matches, MI’s chances of playoff qualification is almost over. A dejected MI skipper Pandya spoke about lack of game awareness in his team with southpaws like Wadhera and Varma not attacking left-arm spinner Axar more. Axar conceded two sixes and a four in 12 deliveries and also restricted them to eight singles.
‘We backed ourselves’
“We backed ourselves to chase this. We could have taken a couple of more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers could have probably gone after Axar a little bit. It’s something we missed out in terms of game awareness.”
237.50
Jake Fraser-McGurk’s strike-rate this season. The Australian has scored 247 runs in five matches
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