The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) got off to a winning start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, continuing their unbeaten run against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Led by KL Rahul, LSG secured a dominating win in the opening clash against DC in front of their home crowd in Lucknow on Saturday. The star of the night was Mark Wood, who bowled a fiery spell and took a five-wicket haul for just 14 runs in his quota of four overs.
The English speedster made an excellent start after the Super Giants had set a strong total of 193/6 in their 20 overs. Wood removed opener Prithvi Shaw and in-form batter Mitchell Marsh off successive deliveries, putting LSG right on top.
It all happened during the fifth over of DC’s innings when the right-arm pacer bowled a 147.3kph thunderbolt to breach Shaw’s defence. Wood then followed it up with another nerve-cracking 147.8kph delivery that shattered Marsh’s stumps.
Here is the video:
𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆! 😲@MAWood33 gets two in two with his fiery pace 🔥🔥
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/086EqX92dA #TATAIPL#TATAIPL | #LSGvDC | @LucknowIPL pic.twitter.com/wuCshhzfMo
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2023
Wood was completely unstoppable as he claimed another wicket in the seventh over of the innings, dismissing DC wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Khan. Then, in the final over of the match, Wood bagged two more scalps, dismissing Axar Patel and Chetan Sakariya to complete his five-wicket haul.
Earlier, LSG, after being invited to bat, made full use of the conditions and posted a humungous total on the board. Kyle Mayers smashed a sensational 73 runs off just 38 deliveries, including seven sixes. Another Caribbean star Nicholas Pooran also made a noteworthy contribution to the Super Giants’ innings, scoring a brisk 36 runs off just 21 balls.
“Last time I played for CSK, but it didn’t go quite well. But I wanted to make an impact in this game. The landing area was bit of an issue, but I am pleased with my rhythm as I managed to take wickets. You could see the dew on the grass and it affected me. I fall even at the best of times. We have trained here, so we knew dew was going to be a factor. KL tried to keep things simple for me and the planning with Morne helped me,” said Wood after the match.
