New Delhi: Delhi Capitals kept hopes alive to enter into the play-offs of Indian Premier League as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by 19 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday night. With this win DC reached the fifth spots with 14 points from 13 matches in the points table while LSG went down to seventh spot.
Chasing 208, the visitors could managed 189 runs in allotted overs losing 9 wickets. They lost 4 wickets inside powerplay. Nicholas Pooran scored 61 runs from 27 balls with 4 sixes while Arshad Khan remained unbeaten at 58 from 33 balls with 5 sixes. Veteran pace Ishant Sharma claimed 3 wickets for 34 runs.
Earlier, sublime half-centuries by Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs propelled the Delhi Capitals to reach a massive 208/4 in 20 overs. On a high-scoring pitch with short boundaries, Porel impressed yet, again with a 33-ball 58, laced with five fours and four sixes, while sharing a 92-run stand with Shai Hope.
After taking his time, Stubbs produced a stunning late onslaught to remain unbeaten on 57 off 25 balls, hitting three boundaries and four maximums to lift DC past 200, as the hosts amassed 72 runs off the last five overs.
Pushed into batting first, DC were dealt a huge blow on the second ball when Jake Fraser-McGurk mistimed a loft to be caught at long-on off Arshad Khan for a two-ball duck. Porel continued to impress by upper-cutting Mohsin Khan for six, followed by hitting three fours and a six in Arshad's second over yielding 21 runs.
Hope opened up by hitting Yudhvir Singh for two fours and a six in a 16-run fourth over, as DC reached fifty. Porel took the attack to leg-stump deliveries from Naveen-ul-Haq by pulling and swinging hard to hit two sixes and a four as DC ended the Power-play at 73/1.
Porel greeted Krunal Pandya with a superb late cut going for four, before reaching his fifty in 21 balls. But spinners Krunal, Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi created pressure, which resulted in Hope slapping straight to cover, who took the catch on rebound off the leg-spinner, as the batter fell for 27-ball 38.
Three overs later, Porel couldn’t get enough elevation on a slower ball off Naveen-ul-Haq and holed out to deep mid-wicket. Despite falling on the crease while trying to pull once, Pant was able to keep a stable base on his pulls off Bishnoi and Hooda for boundaries.
When Krunal gave him width, Pant was quick to pull wide of mid-wicket and cut past the backward point to collect consecutive boundaries. Stubbs got going when he lofted Arshad for six and four respectively, before bringing out a reverse ramp to send the ball between the keeper and slip for four more in an 18-run 16th over.
Naveen got LSG back when Pant never got the timing on a one-handed loft against a wide slower ball and holed out to long-on. Stubbs lofted Mohsin for six, before pulling and lofting Naveen for four and six respectively and got his fifty in 22 balls by lofting the pacer for another maximum. DC had luck on their side when Bishnoi dropped two tough catches of Stubbs and Axar in the final over, as the hosts went past 200.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 208/4 in 20 overs (Abishek Porel 58, Tristan Stubbs 57 not out; Naveen-ul-Haq 2-51, Ravi Bishnoi 1-26) beat Lucknow Super Giants 189/9 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 61, Arshad Khan 58no, Krunal Pandya 18, Ishant Sharma 3/34). Agencies
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