On the back of Kuldeep Yadav's magical spell with the ball and debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk's blistering half-century, the Delhi Capitals (DC) finally ended their losing streak and secured two crucial points. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on April 12 (Friday), DC registered a comprehensive victory by six wickets.
After the win, the Capitals improved to two wins in six matches and brought an end to a three-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Super Giants lost their second game of the season after playing five matches.
Jake Fraser-McGurk captivates on IPL debut
Chasing a tricky target of 168 runs, DC lost their veteran opener David Warner cheaply. Debutant Fraser-McGurk joined forces with Prithvi Shaw and the Aussie batter announced his arrival in style and smashed two sixes. Shaw and McGurk provided impetus to DC's innings with a 41-run alliance before the former departed after scoring 32 runs off 22 balls.
After taking off early, McGurk struggled through the middle phase of his innings before launching three consecutive sixes off Krunal Pandya's bowling. In no time, the right-handed batter brought up his maiden IPL half-century and put DC on course for a much-needed victory. After scoring 55 runs off 35 balls with the help of two fours and five sixes, McGurk was dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq.
Rishabh Pant played an attractive cameo of 41 runs off 24 balls with the help of four fours and two sixes before getting outfoxed by Ravi Bishnoi. DC needed just 22 runs off 27 balls when Pant walked back to the pavilion.
Tristan Stubbs and Shai Hope guided the Capitals to the promised land. DC chased the target with 11 balls to spare.
For the LSG, Bishnoi bagged two wickets and conceded 25 runs in his fours overs while Yash Thakur and Naveen bagged a wicket each.
Ayush Badoni, Arshad Khan take LSG to respectable score
After LSG elected to bat, Ayush Badoni's swift unbeaten half-century propelled the team to a decent total of 167/7 after Kuldeep Yadav's impressive three-wicket haul rocked KL Rahul's men in the middle overs.
Making his comeback after missing three matches, Kuldeep limited the opposition to 20 runs across his four overs without allowing a single boundary. His dismissals included LSG leaders KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis, and Nicholas Pooran.
LSG found themselves in trouble at 94/7, with Khaleel Ahmed striking crucial early blows. Both Ishant Sharma and Mukesh Kumar also contributed, taking crucial wickets. However, Badoni steered a remarkable recovery, hitting five boundaries and a six in his unbeaten 73-run partnership with Arshad Khan, who chipped in with 20 runs from 16 balls.
For the Capitals, Kuldeep was the star of the show with the ball and was complimented by Khaleel, who bagged 2 wickets and conceded 41 runs. Ishant and Mukesh chipped in with a wicket each.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
IPL 2024: Jason Roy reveals 2 big reasons why he opted out of the cash-rich tournament despite KKR retaining him
'I think he is a better version of AB de Villiers': Harbhajan Singh showers immense praise on star India batter
