KL Rahul sizzles with 77 as DC make 183/6 against CSK
Chennai, Apr 5 (PTI): KL Rahul mixed his trademark elegance with brute force during a 51-ball 77 as Delhi Capitals posted 183 for six against Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Rahul struck six fours and three sixes to anchor DC's innings after they opted to bat first.
Tristan Stubbs chipped in with an unbeaten 12-ball 24 before Matheesha Pathirana (1/31) bowled a brilliant final over to prevent DC from finishing their innings on a high.
The Capitals suffered a jolt at the start of their innings thanks to an excellent first over from Khaleel Ahmed (2/25), who had big-hitting opener Jake Fraser-McGurk caught after putting him under pressure with four dot balls.
Credit to Khaleel for plotting Fraser-McGurk's dismissal by banging the ball on the good length instead of allowing him to play in the 'V', something the young Australian is good at.
Notwithstanding the early jitter, DC managed to score 51 runs in the power play and that was largely because of the enterprise shown by Abhishek Porel (33 off 20 balls), who collected 19 runs from left-arm fast-medium bowler Mukesh Choudhary's first over.
Playing this game in place of Rahul Tripathi, Choudhary struggled to get his length right and was bowling either too full of too short, and Porel took full advantage of some wayward bowling.
Khaleel returned to bowl another fine over and Choudhary too did much better in his second over.
KL Rahul broke the shackles with a six over deep square leg off Khaleel before CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad introduced spin in the form of the seasoned Ravichandran Ashwin in the sixth over, hoping for a wicket.
The much-needed breakthrough, however, came in the next over as Porel ended up giving an easy catch to Matheesha Pathirana after driving Ravindra Jadeja uppishly in the left-arm spinner's first over.
It was a soft dismissal, and Porel would be frustrated with it as he was looking good for a big one after having settled down nicely at Chepauk.
Axar Patel began his innings with a six over long-on off Jadeja but, like Porel, the DC skipper too got out after getting his eye in, for a 14-ball 21.
On either side of Axar's dismissal, Rahul struck two sixes off Noor Ahmad and Jadeja respectively, before reaching his 38th IPL fifty off 33 balls.
Rahul found an able ally in Sameer Rizvi (20 off 15 balls) as the duo added 56 runs for the fourth wicket in quick time.
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
