LUCKNOW, India: India’s KL Rahul hit an unbeaten 57 to steer Delhi Capitals to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and get his side back to winning ways in the IPL on Tuesday.
Chasing a modest 160 for victory, Delhi rode on Rahul’s 42-ball knock and a second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51, to achieve their target with 13 balls to spare at Lucknow’s home ground.
Delhi, with six wins in eight matches, bounced back from their previous defeat to table-toppers Gujarat Titans and are second in the 10-team table.
Seam bowler Mukesh Kumar set up victory with his four wickets as he helped pull Lucknow back from 87-0 to 110-4 and then a below-par total of 159-6.
“Once we picked up two quick wickets, we got the momentum and all the bowlers did well to restrict them under 160,” Delhi skipper Axar Patel said.
In reply, Delhi lost Karun Nair for 15 bowled by Aiden Markram, a part-time off spinner, but Porel and Rahul combined to get the chase on track in their stand of 69.
Markram struck again to get the left-handed Porel out after his 36-ball knock, which was laced with five fours and one six.
Rahul stood firm and along with Axar, who made 34, put on an unbeaten stand of 56 to steer the team home with a winning six from Rahul.
Rahul hit his third fifty of the season to go past 5,000 runs in the IPL — making him the quickest player to achieve the feat in the T20 tournament.
Earlier, openers Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45) combined the right dose of caution and aggression to steer Lucknow to 87 inside 10 overs.
South African batter Markram raised his fifty and alongside Australia’s Marsh forced Delhi to rotate their bowling options.
Sri Lanka pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera struck first to send back Markram caught out, and the wicket triggered a mini collapse.
Australia’s left-arm quick Mitchell Starc got the big wicket of West indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran, bowled for nine.
Mukesh then got two wickets in one over, including Marsh, and Lucknow wobbled.
Lucknow subbed out Marsh and got Ayush Badoni as the impact player, and the 25-year-old repaid the decision by regularly finding the boundary.
Badoni made the most of a dropped catch by Tristan Stubbs on three to smash 36 off 21 deliveries.
Badoni hammered Mukesh for three successive boundaries in the 20th over but the bowler bowled him on the fourth ball.
Skipper Rishabh Pant dropped himself down to number seven but faced just two balls before being bowled by Mukesh on the final delivery of the innings.
“We knew we were 20 runs short,” said Pant. “In Lucknow, the toss plays a big part. Whoever is bowling first, they get a lot of help from the wicket. We just had to stay back, we just couldn’t get it away.”
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who went to Lucknow for a record bid of $3.21 million in the November auction, has scored 106 runs in eight innings with a highest score of 63.
Rahul powers Delhi to big win over Lucknow in IPL
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Rahul powers Delhi to big win over Lucknow in IPL
- Chasing a modest 160 for victory, Delhi rode on Rahul’s 42-ball knock and a second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51, to achieve their target
- Delhi, with six wins in eight matches, bounced back from their previous defeat to table-toppers Gujarat Titans and are second in the 10-team table
Desert Vipers hold nerve to edge Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in ILT20 thriller
- Key contributions from Shimron Hetmyer and Khuzaima Tanveer prove decisive as the Vipers weather tense finish to overhaul target of 171
- Knight Riders start well, reaching 87 in 10 overs, but momentum shifts in second half of their inning as the Vipers’ spinners struck back
SHARJAH: Desert Vipers made it two wins out of two in the DP World International League T20, as they held their nerve to secure a dramatic two-wicket victory over Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Shimron Hetmyer’s counterattacking 48 off 25 balls, and a late-order cameo from Khuzaima Tanveer, who hit 31 off just 12 deliveries, proved decisive as the Vipers weathered a tense finish to overhaul a target of 171.
Sent in to bat, the Knight Riders made a confident start through Phil Salt and Alex Hales, with the latter anchoring the inning to top-score with 53 off 37 balls.
Despite reaching 87 in 10 overs, however, the momentum shifted in the second half of the inning as the Vipers’ spinners began to strike regularly. Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad led the middle-overs fightback, dismissing Hales and triggering a collapse as the Knight Riders lost five wickets.
Andre Russell’s unbeaten 36, and useful contributions from Alishan Sharafu and Unmukt Chand, at least helped Abu Dhabi reach a competitive total, but they were unable to fully capitalize on the side’s strong opening.
The Vipers began explosively in reply, smashing a tournament-record 19 runs from the first over. However, early wickets then left them wobbling on 44/3. Sam Curran and Dan Lawrence rebuilt the attack before the latter combined with Hetmyer for a crucial 68-run stand that swung the contest back in the their favor.
Late strikes from Ajay Kumar and Russell, the latter dismissing Hetmyer for his 500th T20 wicket, set up a tense finish, but Tanveer delivered under pressure. Needing eight runs off the final over, he sealed victory with a six and a boundary.
“It was, in many ways, a fortunate escape but an outstanding result for us,” said Curran, the Vipers’ stand-in captain.
“ADKR possess a very powerful batting lineup, and I believe our bowlers performed exceptionally well throughout the innings. The dismissals of Hetmyer and Dan introduced an unexpected twist but the team showed commendable composure in the crucial moments.”
Knight Riders’ stand-in skipper Sunil Narine felt his side had been lacking with the bat: “We were 15-20 runs short. We began well in the powerplay and that phase was crucial for us.
“The conditions eventually worked in their favor and the dew made it challenging for our spinners. But at the end of the day that’s part of the game.”
The result leaves the Vipers well placed at this early stage of the tournament, while the Knight Riders were left to reflect on missed opportunities after such a strong start.
