Delhi Capitals’ revelation of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Jake Fraser-McGurk on Tuesday put on yet another sensational show in the tournament as he blasted a 19-ball 50 inside the powerplay as the home team scored 221 for eight at the Arin Jaitley Stadium against Rajasthan Royals. En route, he carved out a 28-run over against India’s T20 World Cup-bound star Avesh Khan.
It happened in the fourth over the innings after Delhi were put to bat first at home. He began the over with three consecutive boundaries – the first went past the wicketkeeper following a lucky inside edge, the second was hammered through the extra cover while the third was sliced over backward point. In a change of strategy, Avesh dished out a slower ball, but capitalising on the width given to him, Jake punished it for a flat six over long-off.
The India bowler, who was earlier last week added to the reserves list for the T20 World Cup, then pulled back his length, but there was no stopping for Jake, who muscled the length ball over cover for a boundary. A nervy Avesh ended the over with the full toss which only handed the young Aussie another shot at hitting a boundary. He smashed it high over mid-wicket for a six and, with it, completed his half-century.
David Warner was on his feat in the Delhi Capitals dressing room as Jake smashed a 19-ball half-century. This was the second time he completed a fifty inside the powerplay in the ongoing tournament, and the third time he took less than 20 balls to reach the fifty mark in an innings.
Jake has had a fabulous run in IPL 2024 so far, scoring 259 runs in six matches for Delhi at a sensational scoring rate of 233.33. His stunning form even sparked talks about whether he should be included in the Australian T20 World Cup squad, but the 20-year-old, who is yet to make his international debut was overlooked, leaving DC head coach and former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting in absolute disbelief.
“Everyone’s been pretty impressed with Jake Fraser Mcgurk, he’s an ultra-talented kid, and I was a little surprised he was not included in the Australian squad. Had he and Travis Head walked out together it would have been something else,” the former Aussie said in the press conference on Monday.