IPL 2024, DC vs RR, Key Takeaways: Abhishek Porel- Jake Fraser McGurk's opening stand and bowlers take Delhi Capitals to 5th place in Points Table. Top takeaways for RR and DC from the match.
Brief Scores: DC 221/8) (Abishek Porel 65, Jake Fraser-McGurk 50, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/24) beat RR 201/8 (Sanju Samson 86, Riyan Parag 27, Kuldeep Yadav 2/25) by 20 runs.Â
Player of the Match:Â Kuldeep Yadav (2/25)
In a venue where we have seen high scores this season, hosts Delhi Capitals (DC) took on the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.Â
After being inserted into the bat, the Capitals took advantage of the batting conditions on the back of quickfire scores from their openers Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel to amass 221 runs.
Key wickets from Mukesh Kumar at the death, coupled with Kuldeep Yadav’s great spell of 2/25, helped DC hand Rajasthan their third loss of the season.Â
Key Takeaways from DC vs RR, Match 56, Winning Team (DC)
Porel finally bore the fruits of his promotion from the lower order
Opening with Fraser-McGurk, Porel had the best seat in the house to watch the destructive innings off the former, who had scored a scintillating half-century in powerplays.
This gave the young left-hander time to settle and then play a big innings, which was missing. In the 9 innings before this, Porel had just scored 202 runs, coming mostly in the top 3. Though the score isn’t that many, he did get decent starts in many of those, but a significant score was missing.
Opening the innings here at Delhi, he had a point to prove that he belongs to this stage, and he just did that. After struggling against Ashwin in powerplays, Porel found his grove as he attacked the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan to bring his maiden IPL fifty.
He eventually got dismissed on 65 and laid a platform for DC’s middle order to cash in.
Key Takeaways from DC vs RR, Match 56, Losing Team (RR)
Sanju Samson taking the game deep is a great plus for RR
The RR skipper has been a pillar of strength for his team in this IPL, and his performances with the bat have often propelled them to positive results.
With 471 runs, he has been the Royals’ leading run-scorer this season and once again proved his worth this game. Chasing a mammoth 222 to win their ninth game of the season, the visitors lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early in the piece.
So, it was up to the other three, the inform trio of RR, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Riyan Parag, to take the game deep. With the other two failing to play a long haul, Samson took it upon himself to make sure the Royals stayed in the hunt.
After a rampant start, he reached his half-century in 28 deliveries before being dismissed on a 46-ball 86. He didn’t get the team over the line, but Samson brought RR ever so close.
Ashwin pulled things back in a run-fest
After having a torrid IPL 2024 season personally, the off-spinner was a shining spot in the Royals' bowling unit. In what was proving to be a tough IPL for the bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin captured just two wickets before this game and conceded 315 runs.
But in this fixture, the spinner used all his experience to keep the Capitals’ run rate by picking three crucial wickets and conceding just 24 runs.
When DC opener Fraser-McGurk was going berserk, the off-spinner snapped the former in the first ball of his spell. Then he got the better of Capitals’ other opening batter, Porel, and informed Axar Patel in subsequent overs. This spell reduced the host's chances of scoring more than they eventually got.
Statistical highlights from DC vs RR, Match 56
Jake Fraser-McGurk brought up his fourth IPL fifty this season in just 19 balls. He has 309 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 235.88 in seven innings.
Afghanistan international Gulbadin Naib made his IPL debut for the Capitals, while Donovan Ferreira played his maiden IPL game for the Royals.
Axar Patel has struggled big time against Ravichandran Ashwin in T20 cricket, scoring just nine runs in 22 deliveries he has faced off the spinner and getting dismissed thrice.Â
DC’s Abishek Porel brought his maiden IPL fifty in 28 balls and registered his highest score of 65.
Before this game, the highest average first-inning total batting first at Delhi (3 games) was 249.
Yuzvendra Chahal took his 350th T20 wicket with the scalp of DC’s skipper Rishabh Pant in just 298 innings.
Points Table Scenario and what’s next to come
This result has made this IPL tantalizingly close. DC is the fourth team with 12 points, and they have two more games to go. Their next is against Royal Challengers Bengaluru away from home on May 12.
Rajasthan, with 18 points in 11 games, is staying in second place. It will face CSK in Chennai on May 12.
The 57th game of the IPL 2024 will see Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) hosting the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.