Delhi Capitals kept their play-off hopes alive with a 20 run win over the Rajasthan Royals in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Put in to bat, Delhi posted 221 for 8 on the board after contributions from Jake Fraser-McGurk up the order and Tristan Stubbs going all out at the backend.
Rajasthan Royals fell short despite a good hand by Captain Sanju Samson.
Jake Fraser-McGurk
Delhi Capitals opener Fraser-McGurk had a bit of a rough start to his innings. He was beaten on the outside edge off an attempted slog before getting hit in the box by a Trent Boult delivery in the first over. that probably was the wake up call he needed to bat with intent as the very next ball he lofted over long off for a four.
There was no stopping him thereafter as he went on the rampage -- he first read Boult's bowling well as he backed away to make room and played a lofted straight drive for six.
He followed that up with two fours and picked a single to take 15 off the over.
The Aussie then shifted gears and making Avesh Khan his target hitting him for four boundaries and two massive sixes over long off and deep mid wicket, a boundary on every ball. That Avesh kept the ball in Jake's arc only made things easy for the batter as he scored 28 runs off the 4th over of the innings and brought up his 50 off just 19 balls!
His innings was brought to a grinding halt in the next over by Ravichandran Ashwin when he went after a full toss only to be caught at cover. His innings comprised seven fours and three sixes.
Australia will rue ignoring the youngster for the T20 World Cup after seeing his form.
Abhishek Porel
While Fraser-McGurk was going about his business, Porel watched from the other end while inflicting a few blows on Sandeep Sharma in the 2nd over, he hit a lofted drive for a four and then punched the ball down the ground for a four through mid-off.
Once his opening partner was dismissed he kept the momentum going, He punished Ashwin with a six over deep mid wicket and then hit Sandeep Sharma for a four over mid wicket, punishing a short ball.
He kept the scoring rate high even after the Powerplay overs. He took on spinners Riyan Parag and Yuzvendra Chahal. While taking singles and twos off them, Porel also got two sixes and two boundaries off the spinners while DC kept the runs flowing.
The young Bengal batter brought up his maiden IPL 50 (28 balls) of the season with a six over deep mid wicket off Avesh Khan. Along with Axar Patel and Captain Rishabh Pant he kept the runs ticking along with the occasional big hit.
He was eventually dismissed for 65 off 36 balls (7 fours and 3 sixes) making an invaluable contribution. With an average of 28 and a strike of 148, Porel has been DC's quiet contributor. He played to the merit of the deliveries and kept DC on the front foot continually. He has a lot of promise and a lot is expected of him in the IPL.
Tristan Stubbs
Stubbs came in to bat when DC were around the 150 run mark with Pant and Porel back in the hut in the 14th over.
Overs 15 to 17 saw DC score just 17 runs with Ashwin, Chahal and Sandeep bowling tight.
But when Chahal came back to bowl his 4th over, Stubbs showed no mercy and although Gulbadin Naib began the over with a four, Stubbs was the key aggressor as he smashed two fours and a six as 21 came off the over.
Stubbs then smashed Boult for a four before smoking Sandeep Sharma for two back-to-back sixes to help push DC to 221 for 8.
Stubbs swept and lofted the ball to all corners of the ground to play a 41 run (off 20 balls) cameo. The 21 year old's consistency has seen him accumulate 318 runs with a 188.1 strike rate and 53 average this IPL. MI's loss is DC's gain.
Sanju Samson
T20 cricket is all about slam-bang action. Sometimes it could lead to ugly shot making but no such thing exists in Sanju Samson's cricket handy book.
From the word go, the bat swings fluently, he has his technique spot on and he plays some effortless shots that are easy on the eye.
That's how he went about his job on Tuesday as well. With Yashasvi Jaiswal back in the dug out in the first over itself, Samson came out to bat early.
He struck his first six of the match with a big one over long on -- his 200th IPL six!
Samson kept the runs flowing with some sublime fours and some cracking sixes right off the middle of the bat as he made Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar bleed runs. He brought up a quick 50-run stand with Jos Buttler as they raced for 57 for 1 in 5 overs!
Once Buttler was gone, the Royals skipper went on to forge a 36 run stand with Riyan Parag (27) and then a 59 run stand with Shubham Dubey.
The big shots were now few and far between and they were dealing in singles and twos.
Samson completed his fifty -- his 5th this season, off just 28 balls -- with a six off Kuldeep Yadav and then launched a severe attack on Rasikh Salam, who leaked 18 runs in the 13th over of the innings. Sanju now has the most 50s this IPL along with Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Samson was controversially dismissed after a questionable catch by Shai Hope was adjudged a clean catch by the third umpire. Sanju's excellent fighting knock of 86 off 56 couldn't take his team over the line on Tuesday but his consistency has been noteworthy.
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