Delhi Capitals piled 208-4 after KL Rahul won the toss and opted to field at the Arun Jaitley Stadium – where the chasing team had lost each time this season – largely due to Abishek Porel’s 33-ball 58 and Tristan Stubbs’ 25-ball unbeaten 57.

Ishant Sharma (3-34) then tore the heart out of the Lucknow Super Giants top order by reducing them to 44-4. Nicholas Pooran slammed a 27-ball 61, but at 101-6 in the 12th over, the game seemed as good as over.

Madhya Pradesh seamer Arshad Khan, who had dismissed the dangerous Jake Fraser-McGurk earlier with the second ball of the match, joined Krunal Pandya at this point. Until this match, he had made only 64 runs in all T20 cricket at a strike rate of 110 and had never crossed 20. In all, he had hit six fours and a six.

Here, he smashed Kuldeep Yadav for a straight six early in his innings and lofted Ishant for another over long on. When Pandya fell at the other end, Yudhvir Singh Charak walked out, and the seam-bowling duo put on 33 in 14 balls to keep LSG in the hunt.

Arshad hit three more sixes – two off Khaleel Ahmed and the other off Rasikh Salam Dar – in addition to three fours and brought up his maiden fifty off only 25 balls. He finished on 58 not out from 33 balls and LSG on 189-9.

Both DC and LSG are still in the race for the playoffs – but only mathematically.

Watch Arshad Khan slam his maiden T20 fifty: