A 22-year-old Jake Fraser-McGurk turned out to be the perfect addition to Delhi Capitals' (DC) top order in an injured Mitchell Marsh's absence. Fraser-McGurk who has been dubbed as the next David Warner, smashed a half-century on his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 debut.
The young Australian batter registered the second-highest score by a batter on IPL debut for DC. He departed for 55 and missed breaking Gautam Gambhir's record of 58 not out. He is also the fifth DC batter to score a half-century on IPL debut. Other players are Shikhar Dhawan, Paul Collingwood and Sam Billings. After his match-winning knock, the destructive top-order batter explained who tough it was for him to sit on the sidelines.
“I spent the last 5-6 games on the sidelines and was itching to have a go,” the South Australian batter told the broadcasters after DC chased down a target of 168 with six wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare.
After hitting two sixes early on in the innings, Fraser-McGurk struggled to clear the boundary and played a few dot balls. However, he broke free against Krunal Pandya and hit him for three consecutive sixes. He revealed the shot he liked the most in his innings.
“It was more of trying not to swing too hard, trying to find the middle of the bat and that's what I have been trying to do in the last 12 months. I loved the one over cover, nothing better than hitting over the off-side. It is something that I continue to learn and do, batting outside of the powerplay and I will get better by playing more games,” he said.
The young top-order batter is happy with his experience in India so far. He is likely to retain his position at the top of the order even when Mitchell Marsh returns.
“I am so happy to be out there, this is a different world out here, heard about it but to experience it.. it is an amazing time to come to India,” he added.
After getting crucial two points, DC moved to the ninth place on the points table. They will take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in their next clash on April 17.
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