Tristan Stubbs continued his excellent form as the Delhi Capitals beat the Mumbai Indians by 10 runs on Saturday. Stubbs scored 48* off 25 balls after Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk had smashed 84 off 27 to fire Delhi to 257-4 in another IPL high-scorer on Saturday.
On the back of a strong performance at their home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi posted their best total in the T20 tournament. This was a day after the Punjab Kings chased down a record target of 262.
Delhi’s previous best was 231-4 in 2011 against the Punjab Kings. This edition saw the Sunrisers Hyderabad smash IPL records with totals of 277 and 287.
The bowlers restricted the five-time champions Mumbai to 247-9 despite a valiant 32-ball 63 by Tilak Varma, thereby boosting Delhi's playoff hopes with a fifth win in 10 matches.
The youngster maintained his momentum with sixes and fours, reaching his fifty in 15 balls with a hit over the fence. He proceeded to contribute 114 runs with opening partner Abishek Porel, who hit 36.
Piyush Chawla, a leg-spinner, ultimately prevented Fraser-McGurk from achieving a century. Fraser-McGurk, who was not selected in the auction, was acquired by Delhi as a replacement for an injured player.
There was no stopping Delhi as Shai Hope (17-ball 41), captain Rishabh Pant (29 off 19 deliveries), and Stubbs effectively countered the opposition attack.
Stubbs demonstrated excellent batting skills by hammering left-arm quick Wood for five fours and a six in a 26-run 18th over and helped Delhi finish strongly in his 25-ball blitz.
Twenty-two-year-old Fraser-McGurk, who has made a significant impact in his IPL debut season with three half-centuries in five matches, began the match with two fours and a six off England pace bowler Luke Wood in the first over, which resulted in a score of 19 runs.
Despite the efforts of captain Hardik Pandya, who scored 46 runs in 24 balls, Mumbai lost regular wickets.
The IPL heavyweights have experienced a challenging season since Pandya replaced veteran Rohit Sharma as captain and faced criticism across venues.
Pandya scored 46 runs off 16 balls, but it was a 70-run partnership between Varma and Tim David, who scored 37 runs off 17 balls, that raised Mumbai’s hopes. However, Delhi remained calm.
David was dismissed lbw by Mukesh Kumar after scoring four and six, while Varma was run out at the start of the final over, resulting in Mumbai remaining ninth on the 10-team table with just three wins.
Kumar and his fellow medium-pace bowler and impact substitute, Mr Rasikh Salam, each took three wickets.