IPL 2023: Wood stars as Lucknow Super Giants outplay Delhi Capitals for huge win in first home game

Having missed the last season, English pacer Mark Wood couldn’t have hoped for a better debut for his new franchise. And having played in neutral venues all last year, Lucknow Super Giants couldn’t have hoped for a better homecoming.

Wood bagged a five-wicket haul in a sensational spell of pace bowling as Super Giants began life at Lucknow with a big win over Delhi Capitals by 50 runs in the Indian Premier League on Saturday.

West Indies batter Kyle Mayers smashed 73 off 38 balls to guide Lucknow to 193-6 after being invited to bat first in the second match of the day on their homeground.

Wood then rattled the opposition chase and returned impressive figures of 5-14 in his first appearance for Lucknow as Delhi were restricted to 143-9.

The express bowler, who consistently bowled close to 150 kmh (93 mph), cleaned up Prithvi Shaw and then bowled Mitchell Marsh for a duck on successive balls.

Sarfaraz Khan prevented the hat-trick but later fell to Wood when he was caught at fine leg.

Despite some resistance from skipper David Warner (56) and Rilee Rossouw (30) the Delhi batting faltered.

Warner, an explosive left-hand opener who was made captain in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant, reached his fifty and hit some entertaining shots but finally fell to Avesh Khan.

A jersey of Pant, who was injured in a car crash in December and continues to recover from his injuries following surgery, was hung in the Delhi dugout as a mark of solidarity with the wicketkeeper-batter.

Earlier Mayers hammered seven sixes as he overcame a cautious start to tear into the opposition bowling with his big hitting.

Mayers, who was dropped on 14, notched up his fifty in 28 balls with a six and kept up the attack before being bowled by left-arm spinner Axar Patel.

Another West Indian Nicholas Pooran soon took charge and smashed two fours and three sixes in his 36 off 21 balls.

Delhi’s left-arm quick Khaleel Ahmed returned figures of 2-30 before being replaced by Aman Khan under the new “impact player” rule introduced this season. Krishnappa Gowtham came in as impact player on the last ball for Lucknow, replacing Ayush Badoni who had just been dismissed, and finished the innings with a six.

The win took LSG to the top of the table on NRR.

With AFP inputs