Lucknow Super Giants started their expedition in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 with a 50-run victory over Delhi Capitals. After putting up a gigantic score of 193/6 in their debut outing at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow restricted Delhi to 143/9, courtesy of Mark Wood’s five-wicket haul.
Whilst their total score portrays a completely different story, Delhi Capitals had a fairly upright start with the bat. The first four overs produced 40 runs, 26 of those coming from David Warner’s willow, but an outstanding over from Mark Wood turned the game on its head.
The English pacer was seen at his fiery best, first dismantling the stumps of Prithvi Shaw, and then following it up by bowling Mitchell Marsh in the same manner. In his next over, Wood added a third scalp to his tally by sending Sarfaraz Khan back to the dressing room.
A 38-run partnership between Rilee Rossouw and Warner, wherein the former played the aggressor’s role, helped Delhi claw their way back into the hunt. The South African scored a 20-ball 30 and looked set for a big score, but that was not to be, with Ravi Bishnoi getting the better of him in the 12th over.
Having been introduced as an impact substitute, all-rounder Aman Khan did not have a pronounced effect on the scheme of things either, lasting all but five deliveries to score merely four runs. David Warner did bring up his half-century amid the incessant fall of wickets, but with his departure in the 16th over, the game was all but gone from Delhi’s perspective.
The Capitals’ innings eventually concluded at 143/9, as Wood returned to the attack to dismiss a couple more batters, in Axar Patel and Chetan Sakariya. In the last over of the match.
Kyle Mayers Shines on IPL Debut
Earlier, the hosts scored 193/6 after being asked to bat first by Warner. Kyle Mayers was Lucknow’s showstopper in his first match for the team, scoring 73 runs in only 38 deliveries.
The Super Giants had a peculiarly slow start with the bat, as both openers, KL Rahul and Mayers struggled to find rhythm. The first three overs produced only 12 runs, whilst to make matters even worse, Rahul departed in the next over off Chetan Sakariya’s over.
The Capitals’ good powerplay display could easily have been termed great, had it not been for rather substandard fielding. In the third delivery of the fifth over, Khaleel Ahmed dropped a dolly to provide Mayers with a respite – which the powerful opener utilised to the fullest extent.
The next over saw Mayers smacking two sixes off Mukesh Kumar’s bowling, announcing his arrival in the Lucknow colours. The next four overs produced 59 runs, although the game had another tectonic momentum shift just after this phase, with Warner’s team clawing their way back.
Kuldeep Yadav dismissed Deepak Hooda in the 11th over, however, the game turned on its heels three deliveries later, with an excellent delivery by Axar Patel stopping Mayers in his tracks, ending the West Indian’s knock on 73.
Though the missed catch proved to be significantly costlier than he would have hoped, Khaleel somewhat redeemed himself by sending Marcus Stoinis back in the very first delivery after being re-introduced into the bowling attack.
That dismissal, however, was followed by Nicholas Pooran’s entry, and subsequently, more runs for the Super Giants. The 17th over, bowled by Chetan Sakariya, turned out to be a defining moment as Lucknow accumulated 19 runs from those six deliveries, courtesy of a couple of sixes and a four.
Pooran did well to score a 21-ball 36, and although he did lose his wicket to Khaleel in the penultimate over, Ayush Badoni’s 18-run cameo and a last-ball six by impact substitute, Krishnappa Gowtham, helped Lucknow breach the 190-run mark.
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