Mark wood. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

Lucknow Super Giants started their Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) campaign with a dominating 50-run win over Delhi Capitals in the third match on April 1. Kyle Mayers’ 73 off 38 and Nicholas Pooran’s 36 off 21 knocks guided the Super Giants to a total of 193/6 while batting first at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. 

In Anrich Nortje’s absence, Khaleel Ahmed led the pace attack with two big wickets while conceding just 30 runs. Youngster Chetan Sakariya also picked up two wickets but ended up as the most expensive bowler for Lucknow Super Giants. 

Delhi Capitals’ openers David Warner and Prithvi Shaw started positively while chasing a big total. But Mark Wood completely killed the game for Capitals in the fifth over only with Shaw and Mitchell Marsh’s wicket on back-to-back deliveries.

Warner and Rilee Rossouw tried to bring Capitals back into play but spinner Ravi Bishnoi dismissed the South African batter in the 12th over to avoid a late comeback. Meanwhile, David Warner smashed a brilliant fifty but never seemed threatening in the big chase. Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi took two wickets each and then Wood bagged two more wickets in the last over to restrict Capitals to just 143/9.

Kyle Mayers’ knock a potential headache for the management?

The West Indies batting all-rounder got a golden opportunity to start the innings in Quinton de Kock’s absence and he made a big impact.

The South African wicketkeeper batter will be available for selection after the second game on April 3 and is expected to open the innings with KL Rahul. Mark Wood, Nicholas Pooran, and Marcus Stoinis occupied the remaining three overseas slots in this match and are tipped as undroppable due to their stature.

Mark Wood emerges as a potential contender for the Purple Cap race

Debutant Mark Wood completely shifted the momentum with two back-to-back wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Mitchell Starc. He took three more wickets to record his first five-for in the IPL. He missed the entire IPL 2022 due to an elbow injury but his latest performance against Capitals has put him in the potential race for the IPL Purple Cap.

Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, Mohsin Khan, and Mukesh Choudhury were competing for the Purple Cap last year but are partially or completely ruled out of the tournament this season. Wood has a history of injuries but if he manages to play even ten or more matches in IPL 2023 then it will be a big nightmare for the opponents.

Losing captain, David Warner said:

“It was a bit of a challenge. We had some early momentum with the fast bowlers. They bowled very well in the Powerplay. Nobody means to drop catches and a little bit of momentum shifted there but you can’t take it away from the Lucknow team. They batted very well there on a wicket that I thought 170 was par. They did an exceptional job. It’s a big thing, momentum in this game. We talk about building partnerships but you can’t take it away from Wood. He’s an exceptional bowler and he showed his true talent and experience tonight. I felt like you were bowling on two different surfaces from either end. For us it’s about going back to the drawing board. For us it’s one game. We go back to Delhi in front of our home crowd.”

Winning captain, KL Rahul said:

I was a great start. We were clueless of the pitch, nice way to start. We’ll take confidence from this win. Toss is not in our hands, with the new rules you get to play with the team you want. Gives great depth in bowling and batting. I though we were 30 runs above par. The way Kyle (Mayers) batted. We took an aggressive approach against the spinners and put them under pressure. I thought they started well, but we came back well. It was Wood’s day today, it’s a dream for a fast bowler and a team. He made it count. Overall, the bowling group did well and put pressure on the batters. We are not going to make too much of it, we’ll take confidence it. It’s T20 cricket, you need to turn up everyday and be ready for the fight. We don’t want to think too much about this win.

Player of the Match, Mark Wood said:

Last time I played for CSK, but it didn’t go quite well. But I wanted to make an impact in his game. I am pleased with my rhythm as I managed to take wickets. We have trained here, so we knew dew was going to be a factor. Tried to keep things simple, the planning, Morne helped me. Glad it helped me. I was trying to keep my strides short.