The Delhi Capitals promptly shifted to Plan B after learning of the tragedy at the Brook household and Harry Brook’s consequent resignation from the IPL 2024. With all of the figures Tristan Stubbs has amassed in what has been a breakout season for the South African, it is inconceivable that he was merely a backup before then.
The 23-year-old Stubbs arrived in India with enthusiasm. He had recently concluded the SA20 2024 as the leading run scorer for the champion Sunrisers Eastern Cape, scoring 301 runs, which ranked seventh overall for the season, with an incredible strike-rate of just over 168 and an average of more than 60. He had engineered SEC’s championship-winning total of 204/3 in the championship match, scoring an undefeated 56 off just 30 balls and entering the 11th over at 106/3. In Orange, Stubbs was a toy bowler, but for those who missed it, he was a power-hitting masterclass every game in the IPL. The Lucknow Super Giants were treated to another special on Tuesday, which finally put an end to the match between the two teams.
LSG spinners had recovered wonderfully from the blazing launchpad Abhshek Porel had given DC by the time Stubbs took guard. Ravi Bishnoi bowled his four overs in a row after captain KL Rahul made an attacking call. Porel was forced to play cautiously during this spell, and he eventually lost his wicket due to the ensuing dot-ball pressure. Porel went from scoring a half-century on 21 balls to scoring just eight more in the next twelve overs he faced. During the DC pause, with the team at 111/3 at the beginning of the 12th over, Stubbs took great care to finish off the Bishnoi period. The South African had just managed to reach 7 off 9 balls by the end of the 15th, but he maintained his ability to pick up speed later in the game. And he quickened.
During the innings break, Stubbs said to the broadcaster, “It was quite tough when I walked in.” “It was difficult for me to get into a zone of intensity, but once I did, we were able to generate some flow and score those runs.” I always think I can give myself some leeway and make up for lost time. The bowler will feel pressured if you manage to get one or two past them, and you will gain significant momentum.
Arshad Khan was the bowler who gave in to the pressure on Tuesday as Stubbs applied the gas in a very deliberate attack. Stubbs changed gears with the mid-on inside the ring, heaving a slot ball over long-on. The slower over that came next was lofted to long-off after just one bounce. He then skillfully reverse-scooped between the keeper and the short third to make it an eighteen-run over. Though losing a well-positioned Rishabh Pant soon after might have caused a snag, Stubbs was prepared for the in-form Mohsin Khan to turn to slower balls in the dying stages of the match. Although Stubbs’ shot wasn’t the best-timed, it had enough force to clear the distant fence.
As Stubbs scored 2,4,6,2,6,1, Naveen-ul-Haq’s 19th was the game-deciding over that set DC up for a 200+ once more. After hitting a massive 101-meter drive towards the second tier of the long-on stands, Stubbs followed it up with a masterfully timed inside-out lofted drive into the stands. He held the pose for a good few seconds as he reached a 22-ball half-century. The South African blasted all four sixes and three boundaries that evening, amassing 50 runs in the final 16 balls of his innings by the time he concluded, smashing DC to 208.
It was just one more example of Stubbs’ outstanding acceleration work, which has put him at the top of an elite finishers’ list this year.
Highest strike rates in overs 16–20 in IPL 2024
| Player | Runs | SR |
|---|---|---|
| T Stubbs | 252 (96) | 262.50 |
| H Klaasen | 168 (73) | 230.14 |
| Shashank S | 134 (59) | 227.12 |
| MS Dhoni | 136 (60) | 226.67 |
| D Karthik | 226 (100) | 226 |
*at least 50 balls in the air
With 378 runs scored at an astounding average of 54 over the course of 13 games and a strikeout rate of less than 191, Stubbs is only second to Pant as the team’s top run scorer this season. He has scored 252 runs at death, with 173 of those coming in overs 18–20, when his strike-rate soars to an almost unbelievable 320. Stubbs has astonishingly only played two dots in the 54 balls he has encountered during that phase and has only been dismissed once. In the IPL 2024, Stubbs presently has the most sixes scored at death with 20, closely followed by Dinesh Karthik’s 19.
Stubbs in IPL 2024’s Overs 18–20
| Runs | Balls | Strike-rate | 4s/6s | Dots | Dismissals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173 | 54 | 320.4 | 13/15 | 2 | 1 |
The Caps would have been encouraged more by Stubbs’ awareness of the game than just his field movement skills. The South African patiently played Bishnoi out before flipping the switch to bring back the tempo because he was impossible to contain. He may have the confidence to play this lengthy game in the quickest format because of his remarkable statistics against both pace and spin. This season, Stubbs treated pacers with the same contempt despite his reputation as a spin hitter going into the game.
In the 2024 IPL, Stubbs
| Bowling Type | Runs | Balls | Strike-rate | Average | Dots | 4s/6s | Dismissals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Pace | 234 | 118 | 198.3 | 78 | 23 | 18/15 | 3 |
| vs Spin | 144 | 80 | 180 | 48 | 19 | 6/11 | 3 |
After sitting on the bench for the most of 2022 and 2023 with the Mumbai Indians, Stubbs has seized the opportunity to show off his actual potential by regularly playing in the middle order for the Capitals. Putting in a strong performance during a difficult season for Washington, who were plagued by form and injury issues for the most of their first-choice foreign players, is sure to place Stubbs high on the team’s retention list.
The Caps’ assistant coach Pravin Amre responded, “Absolutely,” following their league game victory over LSG by 19 runs. Stubbs’ chances would have been different had Harry Brook been present because he served as Brook’s backup. That’s also the reason I believe it was critical that we select a strong backup at the auction.
We were really optimistic that he could [deliver] since we saw how well he had performed in the South Africa league [SA20], making a significant contribution to the winning team’s victory. In first-class action in [South Africa], he also scored a triple hundred. What we observed most significantly [for us] was that he is a really good player against spinners. In addition, he exudes calmness, a strong work ethic, a relentless focus, and an intense hunger for success.
“I can state that [for DC] this is a player for the ensuing five years. His temperament has showed itself; in the first ten balls he faced today, he scored 6-7 runs. However, as he has demonstrated so often before, a 20–22 ball fifty [is praiseworthy going forward] and it has been crucial for us. The 19th over, in which he scored 21 runs for us, was crucial to our victory today, according to Amre.
Stubbs mostly went unnoticed in a season where players have pushed the boundaries of PowerPlay hitting while also established himself as DC’s destroyer at death.
**With statistics contributed by Roshan Gede
