Ahmedabad : After leading Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket victory, Jake Fraser-McGurk said net run rate (NRR) was foremost on DC's mind after routing Gujarat Titans for 89 in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match.
An all-round DC beat GT by six wickets at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. The Capitals lost a few early wickets but chased down the 90-run target set by GT after some fantastic bowling spells from Mukesh Kumar (3/14), Ishant Sharma (2/8) and Tristan Stubbs (2/11) humbed the 2022 champions at their home.
The young cricketer's aggressive demeanour was clear as he quickly took command, displaying his offensive intent from the start. Fraser-McGurk's proactive batting approach, marked by early runs and forceful strokes, laid the groundwork for DC's successful run chase.
Coming out to chase a 90-run target, DC openers Prithvi Shaw and Fraser-McGurk could only put in 25 runs before McGurk was sent back to the dressing room following a quickfire knock of 20 runs in just 10 balls, including two boundaries and two sixes each.
The batter also said that he didn't need a second invitation to be aggressive after his impactful performance in the match.
"It's pretty surreal, you have to pinch yourself to have played along with Ricky Ponting, I remember in his last Test, Nathan Lyon coming on and talking about it. We have now got the confidence going, started slowly and lost a few matches, but we now have a hang on our own game, I didn't need a second invitation to get going, that was my natural game," Fraser-McGurk said in a post-match presentation.
"Trying to get off to a nice start, try and get the NRR to our favour. When you're riding this wave (of form), you have to try and do it for a long time, cricket is a funny game. We got the better of the conditions, dew came in, the ball skidded on and made batting easier (in the second innings). I didn't play a lot of spin as well," he added.
Coming to the match, DC elected to field first after winning the toss. Rashid Khan (31 in 24 balls, with two fours and a six) top-scored for Gujarat and only three batters could touch the double figures as Mukesh Kumar (3/14), Ishant Sharma (2/8) and Tristan Stubbs (2/11) delivered fiery spells to end GT's innings for 89 in 17.3 overs.
In the run-chase, Jake Fraser Mcgurk (20 in 10 balls, with a four and two sixes) started of well. But DC lost some wickets. However, skipper Rishabh Pant (16*) and Sumit Kumar (9*) made sure that DC ended on a winning note in 8.5 overs with six wickets to spare.
Pant secured the 'Player of the Match' award for his brilliant glovework.DC is in the sixth spot in the points table, with three wins and four losses, giving them six points. GT is in the seventh spot in the table, with three wins and four losses, giving them six points.