Captain Rishabh Pant slammed an unbeaten 88 off 43 balls, while Axar Patel hit a 43-ball 66 to lift Delhi Capitals to a mammoth 224/4 against Gujarat Titans in match 40 of IPL 2024 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

GT had the upper hand after electing to bowl first, thanks to Sandeep Warrier’s triple strikes in power-play and leave DC in trouble. But Pant and Axar took their time, before launching a stunning onslaught against spinners to form a decisive 113-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Axar made his promotion to number three count by hitting five fours and four sixes in his eye-catchy knock at a strike-rate of 153.49. Pant, after being scratchy in his 44 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, was at his magnificent best in hitting eight sixes and five fours at a strike-rate of 204.6.

The duo being phenomenal with the bat meant GT spinners were rendered ineffective in middle overs and the visitors’ bowlers were promptly taken for cleaners in the death overs. Moreover, Warrier didn’t bowl out his final over, as DC took 97 runs in their final five overs.

Pushed into batting first, Prithvi Shaw and Jake Fraser-McGurk hit six delightful boundaries as DC reached 34/0 in three overs. But Warrier bounced back in the fourth over after conceding 12 runs in his opening over.

The fast-bowler first had Fraser-McGurk flicking off the bottom edge to deep square leg, followed by getting Shaw to mistime a pull, with Noor Ahmad running in from deep square leg to take a diving catch. Warrier got his third power-play wicket when Shai Hope sliced away from his body and was caught at backward point, as DC ended the six-over phase with 44/3.

Axar got a move on by crashing a drive off Omarzai, before nailing a slog-sweep for six on a Rashid Khan googly. He and Pant took a pulled four each off Rashid’s short balls, followed by the latter slog-sweeping Noor Ahmad for a four and six each.

Axar continued to thrive against spinners – driving and cutting with ease for his boundaries, while Pant feasted on Mohit Sharma’s short balls by pulling and slicing to take a brace of fours. Axar lofted a drive off Shahrukh Khan for six, before reaching his fifty in 37 balls with a pulled four off Rashid.

Pant was delightful in the 16th over against Mohit - whipping off his pads and thumping a slower ball over long-off for a brace of sixes, before bringing up the century of the fourth-wicket stand. Axar then hammered Noor for back-to-back sixes in the 17th over before holing out to long-on to fall for a 43-ball 66.

Pant got his fifty in 34 balls by lofting a full-toss from Mohit over long-on for six, and was met with a grand applause from the crowd. GT brought in R Sai Kishore’s left-arm spin in the 19th over to counter right-handed Tristan Stubbs.

But the batter creamed the drives twice in the gap between extra-cover and long-off, followed by clubbing the spinner for two mammoth sixes over long-on in the 22-run over. In the last over, Pant managed to clear long-on for six and sliced a four despite losing balance against Mohit. He would pull, loft and swivel Mohit for maximums on last three balls of the innings to take 31 runs off the final over.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 224/4 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 88 not out; Axar Patel 66; Sandeep Warrier 3-15) against Gujarat Titans

 Captain Shubman Gill has won the toss in his 100th IPL match as Gujarat Titans elected to bowl first against Delhi Capitals in match 40 of the 2024 season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

DC are at eighth place in the points table, after suffering a 67-run loss to SRH on their return to the stadium. GT, currently at sixth spot, come into Wednesday’s game after beating Punjab Kings by three wickets at Mullanpur.

The two sides met last week at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where DC easily won by six wickets after bowling out GT for just 89. After winning the toss, Gill, presented with a special plaque by his team ahead of the match, said GT are fielding an unchanged playing eleven.

“Looks like a good wicket (to bowl first), we've been chasing well in the last couple of games. Means a lot to me (on playing 100 IPL matches), have come a long way, still a long way to go, but the focus is on today's match. It's cricket, there'll always be ups and downs, you want to play the way you're good at,” said Gill.

Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals skipper, said Shai Hope and Sumit Kumar come into the playing eleven in place of Lalit Yadav and David Warner, while adding that he wanted to bat first anyway. Sumit, though, is listed in the five substitutes alongside Lalit.

Warner has amassed just 167 runs in seven outings of IPL 2024, and even missed DC’s two matches due to a finger injury picked at Lucknow. “We just spoke at keeping things simple, just doing what we can do for a longer period of time. This wicket looks a bit slower than the last game, dew plays a big factor here, there was no dew last time, hopefully it'll not be there tonight as well,” he said.

Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Shai Hope, Rishabh Pant (captain & wicketkeeper), Tristan Stubbs, Abishek Porel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar

Substitutes: Sumit Kumar, Rasikh Dar Salam, Kumar Kushagra, Praveen Dubey and Lalit Yadav

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Shubman Gill (captain), David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Warrier

Substitutes: BR Sharath, B Sai Sudharsan, Manav Suthar, Darshan Nalkande and Vijay Shankar

After Ruturaj Gaikwad smashed a century to propel Chennai Super Kings to a target of 210, Marcus Stoinis struck his maiden IPL century to single-handedly take Lucknow Super Giants to six wickets victory with nine balls to spare over Chennai Super Kings at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.

Stoinis also broke the highest individual score in an IPL chase of Paul Valthaty's 120* in 2011, also against CSK, after scoring 124 not out in 63 deliveries. In three games before this, no team has come to Chepauk this season and beaten CSK. No team has come here and chased down 211. LSG did both in the same match, led by a magnificent hundred by Stoinis. The match-changing over was Shardul Thakur’s 16th over as LSG needed 74 in 30 deliveries. Nicholas Pooran and Stoinis knew they had to make it a big one because the remaining four were to be bowled by Mustafizur and Pathirana. Pooran made sure LSG didn't miss out and smashed the first three balls for 6, 4, 6. In all, 20 runs came from it. LSG now needed 54 off 24 deliveries as the asking rate came down to 13.5.

Pooran looked to take on Pathirana as well but ended up miscuing it to Thakur at long-off. Deepak Hooda was the new batter and smashed his second ball over deep square-leg for a six.

Stoinis, meanwhile, brought up his maiden IPL hundred, off 56 balls. LSG needed 32 off two overs. Hooda hammered Pathirana for two fours, to go with one from Stoinis to collect 15 from the penultimate over. They needed 17 from the last over and Mustafizur Rahaman was given the responsibility to defend that. But Stoinis launched the first ball over long-on before drilling the next one straight back for four.

Luck, too, favoured him as the next one raced to the right of the short third-man. Fizz had overstepped as well, which reduced the equation to two needed from four balls. On the next, Stoinis moved across and pulled the short ball over backward square leg to seal a 6-wicket victory with three balls remaining.

Chasing a target of 211, Lucknow Super Giants suffered an early strike as Quinton de Kock got out on duck. The batter went for a cut only to chop it back onto his stumps to the swinging delivery outside off. In the first four games of the season, KL Rahul scored at a strike rate of 125.49 in the Power-play. But after that, he smashed it at 185.11 in this phase.

He was looking dangerous once again. After an early wicket, Rahul and Marcus Stoinis kept LSG's chase on track but Mustafizur Rahman pegged them back. Having hit a four earlier in the over, Rahul went for another big hit but failed to clear Gaikwad at extra cover. Rahut got out after scoring 16. LSG were 45/2 at the end of six overs as Stoinis continued ticking the scoreboard. Devdutt Padikkal came in as an Impact Player. He has struggled for runs this IPL, and it was the same story against CSK as he was on 12 off 16 balls.

Meanwhile, Stoinis has been keeping LSG in the contest almost singlehandedly. He brought up his fifty off 26 balls, with the help of six fours and two sixes. But it's still an uphill task. LSG were 83/2 after 10 overs and needed 128 from the next ten. A length ball at 151.4 kph in the line of leg stump from Mateesha Pathirana and Padikkal had no answer to it. He backed away but was beaten by pace and had his leg stump uprooted. He departed for 13 off 19 balls. LSG were 88/3 after 11, needing 123 from nine overs.

The sole reason LSG opted to chase was the dew in the second half. And it seemed to be making a difference as a couple of overs ago, Tushar Deshpande bowled a high no-ball. If there was more evidence needed, a cutter into the pitch from Mustafizur came onto the bat nicely - Stoinis hit it straight off the back foot.

Earlier in the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad slammed his second century of the IPL career while Shivam Dube blazed to a blistering 66 off 27 deliveries, which took Chennai Super Kings to 210/4. Gaikwad scored 37 runs in the Power-play and had only twice scored more in this phase in T20s. Coincidentally, his best score in the Power-play (46) was also against LSG and at Chepauk. Gaikwad continued his rich batting form on a tricky pitch as he reached his third half-century of the season in 28 deliveries. CSK were 85/2 after 10 overs.

The in-form Shivam Dube walked to the crease and straightaway sent his fourth delivery for the first maximum of the innings, which came after 12.5 overs. Mohsin bowled one slightly full around off and Dube launched him down the ground for a maximum.

After hitting Stoinis for a six and a four across the allrounder's two overs, Dube latched onto Yash Thakur and hammered him for three successive sixes in the 16th over. Dube moved to 37 off just 15 balls, and CSK were 154/3 after 16.

It was an excellent innings from Gaikwad - he slammed his sixth hundred in T20 cricket, which came off 56 balls, after a sequence of 6, 4, 4 against Yash Thakur. Gaikwad, at 27 years and 83 days, became the second-youngest captain to score a hundred in the IPL after Sanju Samson.

In the 19th over, Dube smashed two fours and a six against Mohsin and brought up his fifty off just 22 balls. Both batters added 104 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership in just 46 deliveries. Dube started the final over with a six off Stoinis but was run out for 66 off 27 with two balls left in the innings.

In a ton-for-ton response, Marcus Stoinis scored his maiden IPL century to overcome Ruturaj Gaikwad's hundred for Chennai Super Kings and helped Lucknow Super Giants to a six-wicket victory in Match 39 of the Indian Premier League at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday.

Coming in after the fall of the first wicket in the first over, Stoinis hammered a 63-ball 124 not out as Lucknow Super Giants romped to 213/4 after Giakwad's 60-ball 108 not out helped Chennai Super Kings to 210/4 in 20 overs.

Chasing a big target, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) suffered an early setback as Quinton de Kock got out for a duck. The batter went for a cut only to chop it back onto his stumps to the swinging delivery outside off. In the first four games of the season, KL Rahul scored at a strike rate of 125.49 in the Power-play. But after that, he smashed it at 185.11 in this phase.

He was looking dangerous once again. After an early wicket, Rahul and Marcus Stoinis kept LSG's chase on track but Mustafizur Rahman pegged them back. Having hit a four earlier in the over, Rahul went for another big hit but failed to clear Gaikwad at extra cover. Rahut got out after scoring 16. LSG were 45/2 at the end of six overs as Stoinis continued ticking the scoreboard.

Devdutt Padikkal came in as an Impact Player. He has struggled for runs this IPL, and it was the same story against CSK as he was on 12 off 16 balls.

Meanwhile, Stoinis has been keeping LSG in the contest almost singlehandedly. He brought up his fifty off 26 balls, with the help of six fours and two sixes. But it's still an uphill task. LSG were 83/2 after 10 overs and needed 128 from the next ten. A length ball at 151.4 kph in the line of leg stump from Mateesha Pathirana and Padikkal had no answer to it. He backed away but was beaten by pace and had his leg stump uprooted. He departed for 13 off 19 balls. LSG were 88/3 after 11, needing 123 from nine overs.

The sole reason LSG opted to chase was the dew in the second half. And it seemed to be making a difference as a couple of overs ago, Tushar Deshpande bowled a high no-ball. If there was more evidence needed, a cutter into the pitch from Mustafizur came onto the bat nicely - Stoinis hit it straight off the back foot. Shardul Thakur bowled the 16th over. Pooran and Stoinis knew they had to make it a big one because the remaining four were to be bowled by Mustafizur and Pathirana. Pooran made sure LSG didn't miss out and smashed the first three balls for 6, 4, 6. In all, 20 came from it. LSG needed 54 from 24 deliveries as the asking rate came down to 13.5.

Pooran looked to take on Pathirana as well but ended up miscuing it to Shardul Thakur at long-off. Deepak Hooda was the new batter and smashed his second ball over deep square leg for a six. Stoinis, meanwhile, brought up his maiden IPL hundred, off 56 balls. LSG needed 32 off two overs. Hooda hammered Pathirana for two fours, to go with one from Stoinis to collect 15 from the penultimate over.

LSG now needed 17 from the last over bowled by Mustafizur Rahaman. Stoinis launched the first one over long-on before drilling the next straight back for four. Luck, too, favoured him as the next one raced to the right of the short third man. Fizz had overstepped as well, which reduced the equation to two needed from four balls. On the next, Stoinis moved across and pulled a short ball over backward square leg to seal the deal for LSG by six wickets and three balls remaining.

Stoinis broke the record for the highest individual score in an IPL chase, overcoming Paul Valthaty's 120* in 2011, also against CSK, after scoring 124 not out in 63 deliveries. In three games before this, no team had come to Chepauk this season and beaten CSK. No team has come here and chased down 211. LSG did in the same match, led by a magnificent hundred by Marcus Stoinis.

Brief score:

Chennai Super Kings 210/4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 108 not out, Shivam Dube 66; Matt Henry 1-28, Yash Thakur 1-47) lost to Lucknow Super Giants 213/4 in 19.3 overs (Marcus Stoinis 124 not out, Nicholas Pooran 34; Matheesa Pathirana 2-35, Deepak Chahar 1-11) by six wickets.

Delhi Capitals (DC) will host Gujarat Titans (GT) in their reverse fixture of the IPL 2024 on Wednesday.

In their previous match last week, DC registered a six-wicket win over GT. The two teams have met 4 times in the tournament.

DC v GT head-to-head 4-

Gujarat Titans: 2

Delhi Capitals: 2

DC v GT match time: The match starts at 7:30 PM IST (2:00 PM GMT) with the toss taking place half an hour before the match i.e., 7:00 PM (1:30 PM GMT)

DC v GT match venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi

Live broadcast of DC v GT match on television in India: The DC v GT match will be broadcast live via Star Sports Network.

Live stream in India: The live streaming of DC v GT will be available on JioCinema.

Squads:

Delhi Capitals: Prithvi Shaw, David Warner, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Tristan Stubbs, Shai Hope, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Abishek Porel, Jhye Richardson, Kumar Kushagra, Sumit Kumar, Praveen Dubey, Lalit Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Yash Dhull, Mitchell Marsh, Lizaad Williams, Ricky Bhui, Rasikh Dar Salam, Vicky Ostwal, Swastik Chikara

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Matthew Wade(w), Abhinav Manohar, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, Mohit Sharma, Sharath BR, Darshan Nalkande, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Manav Suthar, Kane Williamson, Jayant Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, David Miller, Sandeep Warrier, Joshua Little, Kartik Tyagi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sushant Mishra