New Delhi, May 8 (IANS): In a batting line-up full of aggressive stroke-play batters, Abishek Porel left a lasting impression on the minds of fans watching the Delhi Capitals-Rajasthan Royals match on Tuesday.

Granted that Jake Fraser-McGurk raced to a typically whirlwind 19-ball fifty and Tristan Stubbs sizzled with another exhibition of finishing matches to take DC past 200, but it was Porel’s 36-ball 65 which was the glue of the hosts’ innings in between to keep the scoreboard ticking.

It has been quite a ride for Porel, who began IPL 2024 as an impact player, coming out to bat at number nine in DC’s opener against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur. At that time, none of DC’s main batters got a big knock and they needed a moment of brilliance to set a par score.

Porel was drafted in as an Impact Player in place of Ricky Bhui and the young wicketkeeper-batter smashed 32 not out off just 10 deliveries, including taking 25 runs off the final over from Harshal Patel, to take DC to 174/9.

Here in Delhi, Porel was tasked with opening the batting and had to initially contend with Fraser-McGurk, who carted Avesh Khan for 28 runs in the fourth over. But then he lofted and punched down the ground off Sandeep Sharma for a brace of fours.

Once Fraser-McGurk fell to Ravichandran Ashwin, Porel stepped up to dazzle with his leg-side boundaries against both pacers and spinners. He got his first fifty of the season in 28 balls with a pulled six off Avesh in the 11th over. By the time he fell, he gave Stubbs the platform to script a good finishing act for DC.

Pravin Amre, DC’s assistant coach, hailed Porel for playing a measured knock which held DC’s innings together. "He made the news in our first game against Punjab (32 not out off 10 balls). It was something awesome as he wasn’t getting sure of batting till the 18th over came. But then, he came and delivered. Its always gold when Indian batters score runs, so it was good to see him score big.

"As a coaching group, we were very happy with how he was batting in the nets. He plays against new ball very well and in two-three games he got a chance to bat up, he did well – like he got 40-odd (41) against MI at number three. This fifty against RR was a special innings from him as once you get 78 runs in power-play, you get that momentum and to be there, Abishek played a very important role for the team," said Amre in the post-match press conference.

Such has been the show of confidence in Porel, who joined DC as a replacement for Rishabh Pant in IPL 2023 and was subsequently retained by the franchise, that someone like Prithvi Shaw was kept out of the playing eleven on Tuesday.

"Winning by 20 runs is a good win on the Delhi wicket. We also wanted a leftie-rightie combination at the top and felt that Warner is not 100% fit. We can’t drop Jake and wanted Porel to go up as Prithvi can’t bat at places after number three. It was more of a technical call and it worked to be honest as we got 78 runs in first six overs, as on Delhi wicket, power-play is always important," added Amre.

In the match, DC showed that its death-overs bowling, which has been their achilles heel so far, stood up to shine when it mattered the most by conceding only 20 runs in last three overs, and keep themselves alive in race to playoffs by jumping to fifth position.

Kuldeep Yadav conceded only four runs, including taking out Donovan Ferreira and Ravichandran Ashwin, to start the time of turning the game in DC's favour. Rasikh Salam conceded only eight runs in a clutch 19th over, including bowling four yorkers, while Mukesh Kumar castled Rovman Powell in the final over.

"This year’s IPL has shown that any team can beat anyone and here, we batted well to get that extra 20 runs. We have to give credit to Stubbs as his 20-ball 41 was so important for the team to get past 220 runs.

"Then, RR needed 12 runs per over in their last five overs and Rasikh bowling yorkers in the 19th over was something special as he held Powell to step up for third straight time in the tournament. Again, Kuldeep bowling that important 18th over to get two wickets was so important.

"We do back Rasikh to come good as Mukesh is bowling well, Ishant is a veteran and Khaleel is in World Cup stand-by. But he comes and delivers for us as sometimes on the Delhi wicket, pace doesn’t work as variation matters.

"Sometimes slower bouncers are so effective on this ground. Like in the high-scoring DC-SRH, Natarajan gave away only 19 runs in four overs. So, bowling on Delhi wicket is a work of skill," concluded Amre.