The Lucknow Super Giants made a winning start in the 2023 Indian Premier League, as they kept their unbeaten run against Delhi Capitals intact in the tournament. The KL Rahul-led side registered its third win in as many matches against the Capitals; on Saturday, it was a rather thumping victory for the Super Giants, as they thrashed David Warner's men by 50 runs in Lucknow. Mark Wood, the fiery English pacer, was the star of the night for the LSG, as he took a five-wicket haul, registering figures of 5/14 in four overs.
Wood made a fierce start to his bowling spell after Super Giants posted a strong total of 193/6 in 20 overs, as he removed opener Prithvi Shaw and the in-form batter Mitchell Marsh off successive deliveries to put the Capitals in early trouble. Wood bowled a 147.3kph scorcher to breach Shaw's defence, and then smashed Marsh's stumps with a 147.8 kph delivery on the very next ball.
Watch both deliveries here:
{{/usCountry}}Watch both deliveries here:
{{/usCountry}}In the seventh over of the innings, Wood struck again as he surprised Sarfaraz Khan with his fierce pace; the DC wicketkeeper-batter failed to adjust to the short-pitched delivery in time and neither had the timing nor shape as he attempted a scoop. The ball travelled to the fine leg boundary where he was caught by Krishnappa Gowtham.
In his final over of the match – which was also the last over of the DC innings – Wood took two wickets again, dismissing Axar Patel and Chetan Sakariya to secure a five-wicket haul.
Earlier in the match, Delhi Capitals had invited the LSG to bat first; Kyle Mayers lit up the night sky in Lucknow as he smashed a brilliant 73 off just 38 balls, smashing seven sixes in his knock. Nicholas Pooran also made an impressive start to his IPL 2023 campaign as he scored a brisk 36 off just 21 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes.
LSG will return to action on April 3 when they take on the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in Chennai.