On Friday, the Delhi Capitals secured a much-needed victory against the Lucknow Super Giants, moving them off the bottom spot in the IPL 2024 standings.
Assistant coach Pravin Amre praised debutant Jake Fraser-McGurk for his impact, saying, “It was a tremendous innings from Jake. He was batting very well in the nets and we could see that he had the x-factor, he had that ability to strike the sixes.”
Amre highlighted Fraser-McGurk’s ability to strike sixes, noting, “If you see his innings, he got five sixes and his first two scoring shots were sixes. That’s what we want in this format.” He added, “We were doing well in the last two games but were not crossing the line. That’s why we wanted someone to have an impact on the game and I think he delivered.”
Amre talks about Kuldeep Yadav
Amre also lauded Kuldeep Yadav‘s performance, particularly his crucial wicket of Nicholas Pooran. He said, “The way Kuldeep bowled today and delivered a dream ball to Nicholas Pooran…he is a match-winning batter and getting him out was crucial to restrict them to 160 (167).”
Despite a fighting half-century from Ayush Badoni, LSG were restricted to 167, with Kuldeep’s 3-20 playing a key role. Amre said, “Yes, Badoni scored a 31-ball fifty but that impact from 160 to 190, that margin was reduced (thanks to Kuldeep) and we controlled the game. I also think Axar [Patel’s] role was important, and we were able to have a good period in the middle overs. They had a good powerplay and after that we controlled the game. Credit goes to our spin department.”
Reflecting on his innings, Badoni expressed his motivation to perform after a challenging start to the season. He said, “The season did not start well for me. (But) I was very motivated because I was batting well in the nets. I was just backing myself to play an impactful innings, which happened today. I’m thankful to KL Rahul and Justin Langer for backing me and giving me a chance.”
Badoni added, “When I went out to bat I was thinking of taking it to the end and then attack. If we play 20 overs then 150-plus was a possibility. Eventually we made 160-plus…(but) we were 20 runs short.”
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