Mumbai- Lucknow Super Giants produced a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Delhi Capitals to 149/3 despite an attacking fifty by Prithvi Shaw (61 off 34) in an IPL 2022 match at the D.Y Patil Stadium, here on Thursday.
After a fast start and a quickfire half-century by Shaw, Delhi lost steam and their batters couldn’t get the momentum throughout their innings.
Invited to bat first, the new opening pair of Prithvi Shaw and David Warner gave Lucknow a flying start and took them to 52-0 in the powerplay. Out of the 52, Shaw alone scored 47 runs while Warner was a mere spectator at the other end. The attacking batter continued his assault even after the powerplay and raced to his fifty in just 30 balls.
However, Lucknow made a roaring comeback in the game by picking quick wickets. It was Krishnappa Gowtham, who gave LSG their first wicket by dismissing the dangerous Shaw. After getting hit for a six and four in the first two balls of his over, Gowtham changed the angle and went around the wicket. The spinner fired the ball wide and got Shaw 61 off 34 caught behind.
In the very next over, Ravi Bishnoi got rid of Warner, who managed just 4 off 12 in his first IPL 2022 outing.
Skipper Rishabh Pant then joined Rovman Powell at the crease and they played cautiously against LSG spinners. Powell (3), in particular, was struggling to middle the ball and his struggle was ended by Bishnoi through a googly, leaving Delhi struggling at 74-3 after 10.3 overs.
From there on, Sarfaraz Khan, who was playing in his first match for DC and Pant looked to rebuild their team’s innings. But it wasn’t easy as LSG spinners bowled excellent line and lengths and runs were drying up for DC.
But, after spending a decent amount of time in the middle, Pant decided to shift gears and smashed Andrew Tye for two sixes and a four, helping Delhi cross the 100-run mark in the 16th over. His partner Sarfaraz joined the party and hit 13 runs off Avesh Khan to bring Delhi back on track in the game.
However, Lucknow pacers — Avesh and Jason Holder — used their variations perfectly and gave away just 19 runs in the last three overs. Both Pant (39 not out off 36) and Sarfaraz (36 not out off 28) tried everything but they couldn’t time the ball properly and Delhi eventually finished with 149/3 in 20 overs.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 149-3 in 20 overs (Prithvi Shaw 61, Rishabh Pant 39 not out; Ravi Bishnoi 2/22) vs Lucknow Super Giants.
–IANS