Tristan Stubbs helped the Delhi Capitals sign off their IPL league phase on a high as they beat the Lucknow Super Giants by 19 runs on Tuesday.
The win took Delhi, led by Rishabh Pant, to 14 points in 14 matches and they remain technically in the mix to reach the playoffs, but a run-rate in the negative keeps their chances slim.
KL Rahul-led Lucknow have 12 points with one more match to play and have their hopes hanging by a thread.
The result confirmed a playoff spot for the Rajasthan Royals, who became the second team to enter the final four alongside table-toppers the Kolkata Knight Riders.
The top four teams make the playoffs. The final is on 26 May in Chennai.
The left-handed Abishek Porel hit 58 before Stubbs smashed an unbeaten 57 off 25 balls to steer Delhi to 208-4 after being invited to bat first at their high-scoring home venue, Arun Jaitley Stadium.
WATCH: Stubbs ups the ante in IPL
Ishant Sharma led the bowling charge with three early wickets as Delhi restricted Lucknow to 189-9 despite valiant knocks from Nicholas Pooran, who smashed 61, and Arshad Khan, who hit an unbeaten 58.
Delhi lost attacking opener Jake Fraser-McGurk for a duck but Porel and Shai Hope, who struck 38, put on 92 runs to lay the foundations of the big total.
Delhi stuttered in the middle after they lost Porel, Hope and then Pant, who made 33, after he returned from a one-match ban due to slow over-rate, at regular intervals and Lucknow bowlers checked the flow of runs.
But Stubbs had other ideas and he hit back with a flurry of fours and sixes to fire Delhi past the 200 as the last three overs cost Lucknow 45 runs.
Lucknow suffered early blows after pace spearhead Ishant took down Rahul, for five, and Quinton de Kock, for 12, inside three overs.
Marcus Stoinis was stumped by Pant off spinner Axar Patel and Ishant struck again to make Lucknow slip to 44-4.
Stubbs made it count with his off-spin as he sent back impact substitute Ayush Badoni out for six to end a 27-run partnership with Pooran.
The left-handed Pooran attempted to drive the chase in his 27-ball knock laced with six fours and four sixes but he left a lot to be done when he departed in the 12th over.
No 8 Arshad then raised hopes of a turnaround with his late charge as he raised his first T20I 50 in 25 balls to give Delhi a scare.
Arshad kept losing partners as he continued the charge but in the end failed to match up the asking-rate.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: BCCI
