After being ruled out of IPL 2018 due to injury, Kagiso Rabada was a man on a mission in IPL 2019.
Our Johannesburg-born speedster set the stage on fire this time around by giving an impactful performance in each match he played.
The signs were there right from the beginning - our opening match against Mumbai Indians. Rabada got the wickets of Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting. What's more is he bowled at an economy of 5.75 on a batting friendly pitch like Wankhede. The 23-year-old proved why he is considered the best in the business. There was no looking back then.
The leader of our pace attack had set high expectations for himself and he exceeded them with ease.
After another good outing against CSK, it was THAT Super Over he bowled that put him in the spotlight. To recall, a brilliant final over from Kuldeep Yadav took our first game against KKR to the Super Over. The opposition team needed just 11 runs and Rabada was handed the ball. With in-form Russell and Dinesh Karthik out at the crease, KKR were always the favourites.
It was a situation of immense pressure, especially after Rabada went for a 4 on the first ball. Then magic happened. 2nd ball - right into the blockhole. 3rd ball - into the blockhole and Andre's middle stump is uprooted. Easily a moment that had a million fans of DC jumping up and down in joy!.
Rabada conceded just three singles in the next three deliveries. Our youngster showed nerves of steel. He not only won the game for us but won a million fans that day. Hats off to the man who could bowl with immaculate precision in such a crunch situation.
Rabada hardly misses his line and length, thereby intimidating the opposition batsmen on several occasions.
Even the best and most established batsmen visibly struggled against Rabada throughout IPL - the youngster oozed such confidence.
Another memorable performance of his was against Royal Challengers Bangalore - when he got 4/21 in his 4 overs. The fiery speedster got the most crucial wickets of ABD and Virat Kohli. We went on to win the game comfortably and got back the much-needed winning momentum.
Rabada's hunger to get more wickets did not end just there. He made six more scalps in the next two games - got 2 against KKR and 4 against SRH. Furthermore, the Protean got 2 wickets each in all the remaining games he played - against Mumbai Indians, Kings XI, Rajasthan Royals, RCB. There wasn’t a single encounter where he went wicketless.
Unfortunately, there was a small niggle in Rabada's back after our 12th game and he had to return to South Africa as a precautionary measure for the World Cup. It has now been confirmed that he will be fit in time for the blockbuster cricketing event that awaits us all.
With 25 wickets, a Strike Rate of 11.28, and economy rate of 7.82 in IPL 2019 - Rabada's impact in helping us make it to the playoffs was monumental. He narrowly missed out on the purple cap to CSK's Imran Tahir - who finished his campaign with 26 wickets in 17 matches.
We at Delhi Capitals can't wait for Kagiso Rabada to return next season. We wish our right-arm pacer all the luck till then. May the fireworks continue.
After being ruled out of IPL 2018 due to injury, Kagiso Rabada was a man on a mission in IPL 2019.
Our Johannesburg-born speedster set the stage on fire this time around by giving an impactful performance in each match he played.
The signs were there right from the beginning - our opening match against Mumbai Indians. Rabada got the wickets of Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting. What's more is he bowled at an economy of 5.75 on a batting friendly pitch like Wankhede. The 23-year-old proved why he is considered the best in the business. There was no looking back then.
The leader of our pace attack had set high expectations for himself and he exceeded them with ease.
After another good outing against CSK, it was THAT Super Over he bowled that put him in the spotlight. To recall, a brilliant final over from Kuldeep Yadav took our first game against KKR to the Super Over. The opposition team needed just 11 runs and Rabada was handed the ball. With in-form Russell and Dinesh Karthik out at the crease, KKR were always the favourites.
It was a situation of immense pressure, especially after Rabada went for a 4 on the first ball. Then magic happened. 2nd ball - right into the blockhole. 3rd ball - into the blockhole and Andre's middle stump is uprooted. Easily a moment that had a million fans of DC jumping up and down in joy!.
Rabada conceded just three singles in the next three deliveries. Our youngster showed nerves of steel. He not only won the game for us but won a million fans that day. Hats off to the man who could bowl with immaculate precision in such a crunch situation.
Rabada hardly misses his line and length, thereby intimidating the opposition batsmen on several occasions.
Even the best and most established batsmen visibly struggled against Rabada throughout IPL - the youngster oozed such confidence.
Another memorable performance of his was against Royal Challengers Bangalore - when he got 4/21 in his 4 overs. The fiery speedster got the most crucial wickets of ABD and Virat Kohli. We went on to win the game comfortably and got back the much-needed winning momentum.
Rabada's hunger to get more wickets did not end just there. He made six more scalps in the next two games - got 2 against KKR and 4 against SRH. Furthermore, the Protean got 2 wickets each in all the remaining games he played - against Mumbai Indians, Kings XI, Rajasthan Royals, RCB. There wasn’t a single encounter where he went wicketless.
Unfortunately, there was a small niggle in Rabada's back after our 12th game and he had to return to South Africa as a precautionary measure for the World Cup. It has now been confirmed that he will be fit in time for the blockbuster cricketing event that awaits us all.
With 25 wickets, a Strike Rate of 11.28, and economy rate of 7.82 in IPL 2019 - Rabada's impact in helping us make it to the playoffs was monumental. He narrowly missed out on the purple cap to CSK's Imran Tahir - who finished his campaign with 26 wickets in 17 matches.
We at Delhi Capitals can't wait for Kagiso Rabada to return next season. We wish our right-arm pacer all the luck till then. May the fireworks continue.
