A thriller victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Qualifiers-2 has got the Delhi Capitals (DC) another shot at the IPL 2020 finals. Riding on the performances of Marcus Stoinis (38), Shikhar Dhawan (78), Shimron Hetmyer (42*) and Kagiso Rabada (4/29), the Delhi-based franchise sealed a 17-run win in Abu Dhabi and would now be rooting for a formidable exhibition against Rohit Sharma & Co in Dubai.
Delhi Capitals had earlier lost the Qualifiers-1 at the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI) and two of the league matches too. However, this time around, the situation could be a bit different from some of DC’s key players in top form at the moment.
“Today was just my day, I don’t think I bowled particularly well in the last over. But there are times when you bowl well and don’t have the rewards to show for it, so I will take it. But that is secondary, primary is winning the tournament. If we win the tournament and I don’t take any wickets, I don’t mind that at all,” Rabada said in the post-match interview.
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Kagiso Rabada is currently the highest wicket-taker in IPL 2020 with 29 scalpings in 16 innings at an average and an economy of 17.79 and 8.23 respectively.
In the 19th over, Rabada conceded merely 8 runs while he picked the wickets of Abdul Samad (33, 16b), Rashid Khan (11, 7b), and Shreevats Goswami (0) for a golden duck.
We have to be as good or better in the finals, says Rabada
When asked about bowling in the penultimate over, Rabada said that though it is a challenge, he has been in similar situations many times in his career and he’s happy that the team could get to the winning margins.
“It is challenging, we have been there so many times. I have been there so many times in my career. Playing such a long tournament fatigue mentally and physically can kick in, but I am glad that we could get over the line today. We have to be as good or better in the final,” said the Protea pacer.
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Defending 189 against David Warner (2), who had been scoring heavily at the later stages of the season and the previous matchups against Iyer’s men, could have been a big hurdle for DC, but credits to Rabada for bowling him out in the second over of the contest.
Stoinis too chipped in with wickets of Priyam Garg (17, 12b) and Manish Pandey (21, 14b) in the fifth over that shifted the momentum in DC’s favor.
“Warner came quite hard in the previous game we played against them, so wanted to get one back at him. He is a fantastic player. There was a bit of swing and so wanted to go full and straight, and it paid off. He was a key player.
We took early wickets upfront which made it easy for us because this was clearly a very good wicket,” said the 25-year-old speedster.
In the previous 12 editions, the Delhi franchise could never make it to an IPL final. For the Capitals, this was their second consecutive playoff appearance, and the first time they would be competing in the finals that too against Mumbai Indians who have won 4 IPL trophies in five appearances. Plus, the Rohit Sharma-led side is the defending champions and have been pretty dominant throughout the concurrent season in UAE.
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However, Rabada strongly believes that DC can make history on this occasion considering they have the talent to take on Mumbai Indians.
“Delhi has never reached the final since the IPL has begun, so we are glad to take the team to this height and now it is all about sealing it off. We have two days to regenerate, get some rest, and hopefully, make history.
IPL is a huge tournament because of the magnitude of the players. It is a well-followed tournament, it does not get bigger than this. Mumbai is a very good side. We are a young team, have a lot of talent and the guys are gearing up to do their best,” Rabada said before signing off.
Delhi Capitals will now face-off the Mumbai Indians for one last time in the finals of IPL 2020 on November 10 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, in Dubai.
