IPL 2024: Gujarat Titans’ 87-all out Amidst 200-plus Scores Gifts Capitals an Away Win, Fraser-McGurk Shines Again

With 200-plus scores belted in almost every match, the IPL 2024 saw its first low-scoring match with the DC vs GT clash in Ahmedabad.

Delhi Capitals put on a stellar show with the ball to bowl Gujarat Titans out for a paltry 89 before finishing off the chase with ease with Fraser-McGurk shining yet again. It left Gujarat with their third loss in their last four games.

DC keeps Gujarat in a chokehold

Gujarat Titans just couldn’t break free from the chokehold that Delhi Capitals had them in since asking them to bat. The tone was set by the pacers – Ishant Sharma had Shubman Gill chipping to cover and Mukesh Kumar cleaned up Wriddhiman Saha. So regular were they with the breakthroughs that the highest partnership Gujarat managed through the innings was just 18. Sai Sudharsan’s run out, and a double-wicket over for Tristan Stubbs all contributed to DC’s relentless excellence with the ball on a pitch that was on the stickier side.

Rishabh Pant shines behind the stumps for DC

Adding to the bowlers’ accuracy was Rishabh Pant’s excellent wicket-keeping. It kickstarted with a brilliant diving catch off Ishant to get David Miller and the quick stumping of Abhinav Manohar, followed by another to get Shahrukh Khan. Pant’s four dismissals were the joint-most for a Delhi franchise wicket-keeper in the IPL.

Could no batter reverse it for Gujarat?

No one stayed in long enough to create an impact with all that could go wrong for them, did. Only Rashidh Khan chanced his arm from the lower-order to score 31 which ended up as the highest score of the innings. The unabated fall of wickets meant that Gujarat were bowled out for the lowest total in their home ground. This was the first time a team didn’t manage to score 100 since the introduction of the Impact Sub.

How did the chase go?

Mostly smooth, and very quick. Having already suffered heavy defeats in the tournament, DC’s NRR needed a big boost. This presented an opportunity to redeem some of that, and so they came all guns blazing. Jake Fraser-McGurk first set the tone with a 10-ball 20 but with the high-risk approach came the chances. Spencer Johnson got Fraser-McGurk before Sandeep Warrier struck twice to get Prithvi Shaw and Abhishek Porel despite being picked off for boundaries. Eventually, they finished it off under 9 overs to pick up a massive win. The win gave their NRR a much-needed boost as it went from -0.975 to -0.074, which took them up to sixth on the points table.

No Warner Worries as Fraser-McGurk Shines

Jake Fraser-McGurk, the young hurricane batter tipped to become David Warner’s white-ball successor for Australia, gave a brief demonstration of why as he stepped in to replace his injured hero with another winning cameo for Delhi Capitals.

Also Read – Why 200-Plus Scores in IPL 2024 Have Become So Common and Getable?

The 22-year-old has been the talk of the IPL since blitzing 55 on his debut against the Lucknow Super Giants last week and with Warner’s injured finger sidelining him on Wednesday, Fraser-McGurk, promoted to open against Gujarat Titans, delivered another exhilarating knock.

Given license to enjoy himself on a tricky pitch by coach Ricky Ponting, who has earmarked him as a future Test player for Australia, Fraser-McGurk smacked the first ball he faced – and the second of the entire innings – straight back handsomely for six over the head of Sandeep Warrier.

Third ball, he smashed Warrier for a straight four before turning his attention next over to his Australian compatriot Spencer Johnson, whose first legal delivery was slashed mercilessly over the cover boundary.

Another four followed before Johnson did at least get his revenge, having Fraser-McGurk caught at midwicket at the end of the over.

Also Read – Sunil Narine and His 94 Glorious Minutes at The Eden

The mayhem was over – but so was the match, with Fraser-McGurk’s 20 of 10 balls having already powered Delhi past a quarter of the way to their target on 1-25.  

“I tried to get off to a nice start, hopefully (we) get that net run-rate going in our favor,” smiled Fraser-McGurk afterward once captain Rishabh Pant, with his 11-ball 16no, had steered his side to a six-wicket win on 4-92 with more than 11 overs remaining.

What next?

Delhi Capitals play on their original ‘home’ ground for the first time this season as they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 20 while Gujarat Titans travel to Chandigarh to take on Punjab Kings on April 21.