Defeat of Lucknow seals Rajasthan Royals playoff spot for IPL 2024 thanks to Tristan Stubbs and Ishant Sharma

The Delhi Capitals’ final league match of the Indian Premier League versus the Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday had an air of the end of the season. The hosts won 19 runs at Arun Jaitley Stadium despite a rather low attendance with neither team’s prospects of qualifying for the postseason being very good.

Abhishek Porel and Tristan Stubbs’ half-centuries, which enabled Delhi to score 208/4 after being sent in, set the groundwork for their victory. Nicholas Pooran and Arshad Khan both scored fast fifties, but it was not enough as Lucknow finished with 189/9. After this loss, Lucknow’s chances of making the playoffs are also very poor, and Delhi is all but eliminated. The outcome has made it easier for the Rajasthan Royals to secure a playoff spot.

Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock, and KL Rahul were all out of the first five overs, setting the stage for a serious start for Lucknow’s reply. With the new ball, Ishant Sharma caused early damage, taking three wickets in a three-over opening spell that yielded 23 runs. So, Nicholas Pooran was left to handle his own responsibility of bringing the chase back to life. Arriving at 24/2 in the fourth over, the Trinidadian left-hander tore into Axar Patel right away, scoring 20 runs off his opening five deliveries as he delighted in the ball spinning into his leg side hitting arc.

Pooran was able to maintain that early momentum for a 20-ball half-century despite the asking rate increasing. Among them was a noteworthy reverse sweep from Kuldeep Yadav, which went six over the extra cover boundary.

Pooran had to bat much longer than the 12th over, though, when his drive off Mukesh Kumar was sharply caught by Axar at cover, if only to keep the match alive.

This season, the side batting first in Delhi has made 200 or more runs for the fifth game in a row. Jake Fraser-McGurk was dismissed early, but Porel and Shai Hope made up for it by putting up 92 runs for the second wicket in just 49 deliveries. Porel led the effort, scoring 50 off of 21 balls. Naveen-ul-Haq gave Porel two chances to pull short balls over fine-leg for sixes in the same over. On the second attempt, the ball went into the second tier.

Hope hit his second six at long-on, hitting Ravi Bishnoi flat into the advertising hoarding, after he became familiar of Yudhvir Singh’s medium-pace during a 16-run fourth over. He was only able to locate Rahul when he attempted to go over cover in the same over.

Once the field expanded out, the LSG spinners were able to reduce the scoring pace. As soon as Naveen was brought back in the twelve over, Porel attempted to pursue him, seemingly feeling the weight of the increasing strain. The Afghan bowler had reduced pace, but the ball was still short and hittable; however, Porel did not understand the pull this time and was caught by Pooran at deep midwicket.

Delhi was 73/1 after six overs, but they could never quite build on that explosive start to reach 136/3 in 15. Stubbs made the decision to start in the back five after needing nine balls to reach seven. Arshad Khan, a left-arm pacer, was taken out by Stubbs for two fours and a six. Stubbs was obviously more comfortable facing pace than spin. While a wider ball was reverse ramped between the wicketkeeper and short third for a four, a length ball was clobbered over long-on for six.

Stubbs made sure Delhi reached the 200-mark while showcasing his amazing range. In a 19-run over that saw at least three shots deserving of a spot in Stubbs’ season highlights reel, Naveen took the brunt of the scoring. First, a forehand worthy of Roger Federer zipped to the right of the long-on fielder for four points. The ball appeared to kiss the night sky before landing in the stands when he pulled off a six over long-on. He then added another six with an inside-out drive to reach his half-century.