MATCH STORY
Follow UsDelhi Capitals were playing after an eight-day break in the ongoing IPL season. However, Jake Fraser-McGurk ensured no one would forget his sublime power-hitting that has taken IPL 2024 by storm.
Facing the Rajasthan Royals’ attack on Tuesday (May 7), Fraser-McGurk hammered 50 off 20 balls, smashing seven fours and three sixes. This is his fourth fifty in the season, third at a strike rate in excess of 200 and second as an opener. For the second time, he completed his fifty within the powerplay. Two games ago, he notched up 78 off 24 balls in the powerplay against Mumbai Indians without getting out.
It wasn’t the best of starts for Fraser-McGurk today. Used to get off the mark with a boundary, he opened the account with a couple of runs against Trent Boult off the first ball of the match. Three balls later, he was hit in the box, which brought the game to a halt. Contrary to his batting style, McGurk had to take his own sweet time to get ready to face the next ball.
Yet, he was unfazed and smashed Boult over the mid-off fielder for his first boundary, Well, that opened the gates. In Boult’s second over, the third of the game, he smashed the left-arm seamer for two fours and a six.
But it was Avesh Khan who had to face the heat of Fraser-McGurk’s golf-like bat swing the most. In his first over, Fraser-McGurk scored 28 runs, with a boundary on each of the six balls. There were four fours and two sixes, taking DC’s score to 59/0 in the four overs. The last shot took the cake. Fraser-McGurk had smashed length balls throughout the innings. But on this occasion, he struck a low full toss from the middle of the bat to reach his fifty in 19 balls. Only seven-match old in the IPL now, the right-hander already has the most fifties under 20 balls in the IPL history - three.
23 batters have scored over 100 runs in the powerplay this IPL season. Fraser-McGurk is seventh on the tally right now. But no one comes close to his strike rate of 255.2 in this phase. The next best is Travis Head at 207.6.
That six against Avesh turned out to be the last scoring shot for the right-hander. He lived by the sword and died by it, playing a rank full toss straight to the cover fielder. He was a bit lucky on the previous occasions in this innings but that is a prerequisite for batting at such astronomical strike rates.
But by then, he had done his job, taking DC to another firing start.
