Delhi Capitals signed off the league stage with a 19-run win over Lucknow Super Giants in Delhi, and kept themselves in contention for a top-four finish, even if only mathematically. LSG, with one more game left against Mumbai Indians, aren’t out of the running either, but both teams will have to depend on other results to go their way if they are to make the top four.

From 44 for 4 in a chase of 209, LSG took the contest to the last over thanks to Nicholas Pooran’s 61 and Arshad Khan’s unbeaten 58 from No.8 . However, Rasikh Salam defended 22 off the final over to hand DC their seventh victory of IPL 2024.

On a high-scoring surface, DC had to post 200 or above to have a shot at collecting two points. After being asked to bat, Abishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs shone with fifties to power DC to 208 for 4. With the ball, Ishant Sharma ripped through LSG early on with three wickets and even though Pooran and Arshad tried their best, LSG kept losing wickets at the other end and eventually fell short.

DC lost their aggressive opener Jake Fraser-McGurk in the first over when he was caught at long-on off the left-arm quick Arshad. But Porel and Shai Hope didn’t let the wicket slow them down. After smashing six off Mohsin Khan, Porel pummeled three fours and a six in Arshad’s second over. In the following over, Hope targeted Yudhvir Singh and hit 4,4, and 6. By the end of four overs, DC had raced to 51 for 1. The duo didn’t spare Naveen-ul-Haq either as he ended up conceding 17 runs off his first over. DC ended the powerplay on 73 for 1, with Porel batting on 43 off 16.

Porel raced to his fifty in 21 balls but hit only eight runs off his next 12 balls, thanks to LSG’s spinners who exerted pressure in the middle overs. Rahul brought in Ravi Bishnoi immediately after the powerplay and bowled Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda from the other end. Bishnoi broke the 92-run second-wicket stand between Porel and Hope in the ninth over, when Hope thrashed a full-length wide delivery straight to cover, where Rahul took a stunning low catch to dismiss him for a 27-ball 38. After only 17 came off the next 15 balls, Porel fell to Naveen’s slower ball, trying to go big. Bishnoi finished with 1 for 26 from his four overs, as DC accumulated just 42 runs from overs 7 to 12.

After 15 overs, DC were 136 for 3 and the 200 mark looked far away. But they still had Stubbs. After scoring seven off his first nine deliveries, he took off, first smashing Arshad for two fours and a six in the 16th over and then Naveen for two sixes and a four in the 19th to get to his fifty in 22 balls. His unbeaten 57 off 25, and a quickfire 33 from Rishabh Pant, lifted DC to 208 for 4, with 72 runs coming off the final five overs.

Ishant, the Impact Player, made an impact straightaway, removing three big guns – Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda – in his first three overs. Axar Patel’s dismissal of Marcus Stoinis – stumped by Pant – meant LSG were reeling at 44 for 4 in no time.

Despite the early blows, LSG were still in the game thanks to Pooran’s big hitting. He hit Axar for 4, 6, 4, 6 just after the left-arm spinner had removed Stoinis off his first ball. He went on to smash four more fours and two more sixes after that over – this included a reverse-sweep over extra cover for a six off Kuldeep Yadav. At the halfway stage, LSG were 97 for 5. Pooran, however, fell to Mukesh Kumar’s slower short ball, angled away from his hitting arc, slicing it to Axar at extra cover to depart for a 27-ball 61. At 101 for 6, it seemed like LSG had lost control of the chase.

There was more entertainment when Arshad came out all guns blazing. Striking at 175.5, the left-hand batter muscled five sixes and three fours to keep LSG in the game till the very end. His unbeaten knock brought down the equation to 29 off the last 12. But Mukesh and Rasikh finished with two excellent overs at the death, denying him any more boundaries, and LSG fell 19 short of DC’s total.

Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 208/4 in 20 overs (Abishek Porel 58, Tristan Stubbs 57*, Shai Hope 38, Rishabh Pant 33; Arshad Khan 1-45,  Naveen Ul-Haq 2-51, Ravi Bishnoi 1-26) beat Lucknow Super Giants 189/9 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 61, Arshad Khan 58*; Ishant Sharma 3-34, Khaleel Ahmed 1-22, Axar Patel 1-20, Mukesh Kumar 1-33, Kuldeep Yadav 1-33, Tristan Stubbs 1-04) by 19 runs

(Cricinfo)