The Delhi Capitals began their campaign in the 2023 Indian Premier League against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday. David Warner led the DC side in the absence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who remains unavailable for the entirety of the tournament as he continues to recover from injuries sustained in a car crash. Pant could miss the majority of cricketing action this year including the World Test Championship final and the ODI World Cup, scheduled for October-November.
Ahead of their opening match of the season, however, Capitals made a heartwarming gesture for Pant as they made his presence felt at the DC dugout. The management had Rishabh Pant's jersey hung on the top of the dugout during the match.
“Always in our dugout. Always in our team,” the Capitals wrote as they shared a picture of the jersey on their official Twitter account.
The Capitals will be aiming for a strong comeback in 2023 after narrowly missing a spot in the playoffs last year; the side had finished fifth in 2022. Warner, who made a return to Capitals only last year, had enjoyed an impressive season in 2023, as he scored 432 runs in 12 matches at a brilliant strike rate of 150.52.
{{/usCountry}}The Capitals will be aiming for a strong comeback in 2023 after narrowly missing a spot in the playoffs last year; the side had finished fifth in 2022. Warner, who made a return to Capitals only last year, had enjoyed an impressive season in 2023, as he scored 432 runs in 12 matches at a brilliant strike rate of 150.52.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier on Saturday, Warner won the toss and invited the hosts Lucknow to bat first at the Ekana Stadium. The side took the field with four overseas players; in addition to Warner, DC fielded Rovman Powell and Mitchell Marsh, and handed a debut cap to South Africa batter Rilee Russouw. Mukesh Kumar, the uncapped Indian player who DC bought for INR 5.5 crore, also made his Indian Premier League debut against LSG.
The 2023 season began on Friday with defending champions Gujarat Titans defeating MS Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in Ahmedabad. Earlier on Saturday, Punjab Kings registered a narrow 7-run win (on D/L method) against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mohali.