NEW DELHI: Solid half-centuries from
Abishek Porel
and
Tristan Stubbs
was followed by a clinical all-round bowling effort as Delhi Capitals kept their slim IPL play-off hopes alive with a 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in their final league fixture on Tuesday.
Porel (58) and Shai Hope (38) shared 92 runs off 49 balls to give the hosts an aggressive start. Tristan Stubbs (25-ball 57*) then hammered three fours and four maximums in his blitzkrieg and added 47 and 50 runs with
Rishabh Pant
(33) and Axar Patel (14*) to power DC to 208 for 4.
LSG then had a disastrous start in chase, losing four wickets inside powerplay as DC bowlers joined the party to eventually restrict the visitors to 189 for 9.
A belligerent 27-ball 61 from
Nicholas Pooran
and a 33-ball 58 not out by Arshad Khan went in vain as the loss has now made LSG's playoffs chances a distant dream.
After the defeat skipper
KL Rahul
admitted that chasing has been a problem for his side throughout the season and loss of four wickets inside powerplay today hurt them really bad.
"I think 200 was a par score, and we should have chased it down. This has been the problem for us throughout the season - we lose wickets in the powerplay," Rahul said in the post-match presentation.
Rahul also lauded the attacking intent of the hosts despite losing wickets at regular intervals.
"I feel like the wicket remained the same throughout the 40 overs. When we got Jake in the first over, we started out well. But even when the wickets are falling, they keep coming hard," said Rahul.
DC are now done with their league games this season, registering 7 wins and equal number of defeats.
Lucknow, on the other hand, are on 12 points and still have a game remaining.
(With PTI inputs)