Jake Fraser-McGurk powers Delhi Capitals in win over Mumbai Indians

It isn’t new for an Australian to be bludgeoning the ball at the top of the order for Delhi Capitals. On Saturday though, it wasn’t David Warner – unavailable due to injury – causing the mayhem. It was 22-year-old Jake Fraser-McGurk unleashing a 24-ball 87 to build on an already impressive debut season in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

His swashbuckling knock took Delhi Capitals to 257/4, setting up a 10-run victory over Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. This was Mumbai’s sixth defeat in nine matches while Delhi have five wins and losses each after 10 games.

After the madness at Eden Gardens on Friday night that saw Punjab Kings chase down a record 262 with eight balls to spare against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi were equally gung-ho as they kicked off proceedings on a muggy afternoon. They raced to 92/0 in the first six overs, Fraser-McGurk hitting 78 of those runs in 24 deliveries.

The Australian was a late entrant to this year’s IPL as a replacement for injured pacer Lungi Ngidi, but he has looked completely at home right since his debut against Lucknow Super Giants on April 12. He teed off immediately against left-arm pacer Luke Wood, hitting 19 runs in the opening over and setting the tone for another high-scoring game.

What followed was unusual as Fraser-McGurk decided to go after Jasprit Bumrah too. Amid the glut of run fests this season, Bumrah has stood out as a bowler of extremely high skill. But Fraser-McGurk welcomed the MI spearhead with a six, picking a slower ball early and depositing it into the stands over long-on. Two more fours resulted in Bumrah’s opening over, which went for 18 runs.

In the circumstances, Hardik Pandya wasn't escaping Fraser-McGurk’s wrath. His opening over went for 20 runs and his second for 21. Fraser-McGurk, having reached his fifty off 15 balls, seemed to be on course for making the fastest IPL hundred until he holed out to deep midwicket against Piyush Chawla. That brought a fleeting lull to proceedings, but Shai Hope and Rishabh Pant got going soon enough with a 53-run stand off 24 balls. Hope’s 17-ball 41 included five sixes, latching onto anything short of a good length in particular.

The finishing touch was provided by Tristan Stubbs’ 48 (25b), notably playing a series of scoops and reverse scoops in a 26-run 18th over by Wood.

MI had the batting might to chase this down. But they couldn’t quite maximise in the powerplay, reaching 65/3 with Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav back in the dugout. Pandya had an opportunity to step up with chief selector Ajit Agarkar in attendance. And though he got a few shots away to end up with a 24-ball 46, he had to keep going for the knock to have a definitive impact on the outcome.