IPL 2023, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Top Performances: Mark Wood's 5-14, Kyle Mayers' 73 and Ravi Bishnoi's 2-31 are top performances. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) beat Delhi Capitals and move to first place in Points table.
Brief Scores: LSG 193/6 (Mayers 73, Pooran 36, Khaleel 2/30) beat DC 143/9 (Warner 56, Wood 5/14, Avesh Khan 2/29) by 50 runs
IPL 2023 was off to a great start with a last-over finish in the Gujarat-Chennai encounter in the opening encounter followed by a back and forth rain-affected contest in the first day game of the season between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders, which eventually PBKS won by 7 runs in D/L method.
In the first double-header of IPL 2023, we head to the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow where LSG, led by KL Rahul, host their neighbours Delhi Capitals. This is the first time Lucknow Super Giants is playing a game at their home ground and we are in for a cracker of a game. The teams have faced each other twice last season and LSG came out victorious in both the games.
Talking Point
DC’s bowling attack lacked a spring in the absence of two of their main overseas pacers Anrich Nortje and Mustafizur Rahman. While Nortje will join a little later after finishing his national duties, Musatafizur has just left Bangladesh. DC will be a stronger side once the duo joins the team. At present, from what we saw in their opening contest, their all-Indian bowling attack lacked penetration. They can perhaps use Mitchell Marsh for a few overs, if he is fit enough to bowl.
The other talking point is DC’s bizarre choice for an Impact player. Unexpectedly, they used Aman Khan who just managed to score 4.
Delhi Capitals skipper, David Warner, won the toss and as anticipated, elected to field first on a slow wicket. With his appearance for DC this season, Rilee Rossouw makes a return to IPL cricket after a gap of 8 years (his last match came way back in 2015 for RCB) and for the Lucknow Super Giants, Kyle Mayers made his IPL debut.
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Kyle Mayers’s brilliance with the bat and Mark Wood’s pace propel LSG to a winning start
KL Rahul struggled to get going and eventually perished for a 12-ball 8 runs, and the rest of the top-5, namely, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, and Marcus Stoinis, all found run-scoring tough though they occupied the strike for a substantial period of time. However, Kyle Mayers was the one player who was different at the crease. Making his IPL debut, the all-rounder smashed 7 sixes and didn’t spare any bowlers, not even the spin duo of Kuldeep-Axar, who gave DC regular breakthroughs and kept things tight in middle overs.
Once Mayers departed after a stunning 38-ball 73, it looked like LSG would lose all the momentum, but Nicholas Pooran, playing his first game for the Super Giants, scored a vital 21-ball 36. Coupled with a cameo from young Ayush Badoni (18 from 7), LSG managed to score 193/6 in their quota.
Chasing a big score of 194, the Capitals were off to a blazing start with its exciting opening duo Prithvi Shaw and skipper David Warner, making their intentions clear from the first ball. However, a triple strike in 2 overs from pacer Mark Wood jolted DC’s chase badly, as they reduced from 41/0 to be at 48/3 at the end of 7 overs.
Skipper Warner was holding things at one end, getting to yet another IPL half-century where he got support from Rilee Rossouw. Just when both started to accelerate the run scoring, Ravi Bishnoi struck to send back the South African for 30. The leggie snapped the wicket of dangerous Rovman Powell while Avesh Khan got the better of Aman Khan.
Once Warner departed, it was all but formality for the Super Giants as they won the game comfortably in the end by 50 runs.
Read More: IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants Squad Analysis: Opening combination & bowling attack big pluses
Let’s scan the top three performances from the game between LSG and DC in IPL 2023
Kyle Mayers shines on debut with a splendid 38-ball 73
Kyle Mayers and stunning performances on debut go hand in hand. In his Test debut game, the left-hander scored a match-winning unbeaten 210 in the 4th innings, enabling West Indies to chase a record 395.
Likewise, Kyle Mayers has made a substantial impact on his IPL debut against the Delhi Capitals. Opening the innings, Mayers not only tackled the Delhi left-arm pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Chetan Sakariya, but also decimated the attack on what was a slightly slow-paced wicket. His onslaught of 38-ball 73 propelled LSG to a massive 193 despite the rest of the batters struggling to get going. The next best score was 36 by Pooran talks about the nature of the wicket.
Mark Wood’s fiery spell brings back LSG into the contest
The DC made a strong start in their pursuit of 194 scoring 41 runs in the first overs with the openers Shaw-Warner going great guns. However, the introduction of English paceman Mark Wood into the attack gave a lease of life to the LSG defence. With his fiery pace, Wood rattled the sticks of Shaw and in-form Mitchell Marsh in consecutive deliveries. In the next over, Wood for the wicket of Sarfaraz reducing DC to 48/3 in 7 overs. In short, the pacer paved the way for LSG’s comeback into the contest.
He cleaned up the tail later, ending things with a 5-wicket haul in the first of this season of IPL.
Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan make inroads into the DC’s batting order
When Mark Wood’s thunderous spell bounded DC’s top order, the Indian duo of Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Avesh Khan were responsible for not allowing the Capitals to make any sort of comeback. They finished with a cumulative spell of 4/60 in 8 overs to give LSG a resounding win.
Points Table scenario & What’s Next
With this win, LSG top the points table and they will next take on the Chennai Super Kings in an away fixture on third of April at Chennai, while DC play hosts to the defending champions Gujarat Titans on the fourth.
IPL 2023 Points Table
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