In the lone Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Tuesday (April 22nd), Delhi Capitals comfortably defeated Lucknow Super Giants, propelling Axar Patel's side to the second spot in the league table.
Delhi won the toss and elected to field first, sending Lucknow in to bat. Lucknow got off to a flying start, with explosive batting from Marsh and Markram suggesting a substantial total was on the cards.
However, after their dismissals, no other Lucknow batsman could maintain the momentum. Consequently, Lucknow finished their innings at 159 for 6 after 20 overs. In reply, half-centuries from Porel and Rahul guided Delhi to an easy 8-wicket victory.
Lucknow's opening pair contributed a strong 87 runs. Markram was dismissed after scoring 45 runs off 36 balls. Lucknow's other opener, Mitchell Marsh, reached his half-century but couldn't capitalize further, falling for 52 off 33 balls.
Following this, Lucknow lost wickets at regular intervals. A late unbeaten knock of 36 runs off 21 balls from Ayush Badoni provided Lucknow with a fighting total. For Delhi, Mukesh Kumar was the standout bowler, taking 4 wickets for 33 runs.
Chasing the target, Delhi lost Nair early in their innings. However, a pair of half-centuries from Abhishek Porel and KL Rahul steered Delhi to a comfortable victory. Porel was dismissed for 51 off 36 balls, while KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 57 off 42 balls. Delhi secured the win with 8 wickets and 13 balls to spare. Markram was the only wicket-taker for Lucknow, claiming both Delhi wickets.
With this victory, Delhi Capitals now have 12 points from 8 matches, moving them up to second place in the table, giving them a strong chance of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants are in fifth position with 10 points from 9 matches.
