DC vs LSG: Pooran sizzles with switch-hit, Stubbs goes inside out and Jake makes up with runout for scoring a duck

Jake’s bullet throw

It was an interesting night for Jake Fraser-McGurk, the big breakthrough Aussie star of IPL 2024. In what could very well be Delhi’s last match of the season, plenty more fireworks were expected from him. But he fell in the first over for a duck, finding the fielder at long-on to be at the receiving end of a well-set field. And on the field, he put down an absolute sitter at deep square leg. The man has a reputation of being a good fielder but that was a jaw-dropping moment on the other side of the spectrum to what we have been used to from him. But a couple of overs later, he’d redeem himself and how. It wasn’t quite Virat Kohli’s prowling, pacy runout. But from deep midwicket, he nailed an absolute bullet of a throw to hit the base of the stumps. Ravi Bishnoi is quick, but wasn’t quick enough there.

Rumble after tumble

Shai Hope had hit the ball so brutally that the ball popped out of KL Rahul’s hands. Rather it reached his cupped palms even before he could realise. He was standing in covers, making his way for Quinton de Kock behind the stumps. But Rahul had the presence of mind, and the reflexes, to grab the ball in the second attempt, which he did by shifting to his right and flinging full stretch to pouch the ball with his right palm in the wink of an eye. Often in such cases, the ball would tumble out of his hands when the elbow heavy-lands on the turf. But his swift descent was as smooth as his back-cut. Rather than making the catch look spectacular, he made it look simple. The LSG captain quickly scrambled back on his feet and heaved a sigh of relief. A drop his team could ill-afford in this must-win game.

Dancer’s feet

For a fleeting second, it seemed as though Nicholas Pooran had misjudged the flight of Abhishek Porel’s mistimed pull off Naveen-ul-Haq. He seemed to have advanced more than he should have. It didn’t matter. He stealthily back-pedaled, cushioned the ball in his palms, then shifted back to gather his balance, realised he could be stepping on the boundary cushion, so just flung the ball coolly over his head, regained his balance, and pocketed the ball, without any evident fuss. His footwork was balletic, each step carrying the perfect weight. This was the embodiment of the fabled Caribbean cool, that gift to make hard feats look easy, almost insouciant. Then as if he had pulled off the most routine of feats, he accepted the hugs of his more excited colleagues.

Stubbs brings power, polish

Tristan Stubbs employed his muscle to good effect during his whirlwind half-century. But in between, he would display his traditional bearings as well as the hang for pyrotechnics. There was a gorgeous reverse-sweep early on, then came the six over extra cover to wink in his half-century of 21 balls. He shifted back, so that he could line up another lusty blow. Then he realised that the ball from Naveen-ul-Haq was too full and a bit wide, so he just thrust his front foot, dragged the back-foot away a trifle to go inside out over extra cover, and then swung those lovely hands like Ajay Jadeja off Waqar in 1996. The timing was pristine, and the ball soared over the extra-cover fence. He held the pose for a while. The shot was indeed pose-worthy.

Two stylish strokes, 1 result 💥

Tristan Stubbs reaches his fifty in style 🚀

Watch the match LIVE on @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia 💻📱#TATAIPL | #DCvLSG pic.twitter.com/4DacwQUuFP

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2024

Pooran switches up

With LSG on 83/5 in 8.3 overs, there was no doubt they were in all sorts of trouble. But in that, Nicholas Pooran had smashed 52 off 20 balls. If ever there was a case to be made for the cliche that one batter is playing on a different pitch compared to everyone else in his team, this would be it. Pooran walked in and teed off from the word go. And in a breathtaking innings, one shot stood out. While most of his strokes are what we expect typically from Pooran, covering a wide range on the leg side. But against Kuldeep Yadav – who had produced a peach when these two met in Lucknow – Pooran brought out the switch hit. The grips changed, and the ball was sent soaring over what would have been deep midwicket for a right-hander. A shot of ridiculously high skill against a top bowler.

Get latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.