Lucknow, April 1 Delhi Capitals (DC) produced a brilliant bowling effort as Lungi Ngidi and T. Natarajan picked three wickets each to haunt Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 141 in 18.4 overs at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Wednesday.
Asked to bat first, LSG came up with a new opening batting pair as skipper Rishabh Pant promoted himself to the top order but was removed early in the innings of an unfortunate run out. A strange moment in what might have been a caught-and-bowled chance for Mitchell Marsh turned into a run-out. Mukesh Kumar got a slight touch on the ball, which hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end, catching Pant short of his crease at seven runs.
Earlier, Mukesh Kumar set the tone with an exceptional start with the new ball, conceding less than a run a ball in three overs during the powerplay; he also got some swing and seam movement, but most importantly, he did not give Mitchell Marsh much room to work with outside off stump.
Skipper Axar Patel then brought himself on to bowl to the right-handers and struck in standard style by deceiving Aiden Markram (11) with a skiddy, angled delivery that cramped his room and bowled him out after hitting him for a six on the previous ball before. Delhi Capitals capped off a strong first phase of the match by restricting LSG to 48/2 at the conclusion of the powerplay.
Ayush Badoni’s stay was brief as LSG slipped to 49/3 in the seventh over, with the batter edging a regulation length delivery of T Natarjan slanting away outside off to the keeper while attempting to free his arms and go over the infield.
Ngidi recovered from a costly start to deliver a possible ball of the season. He tricked Nicholas Pooran (8) with a well-disguised dipping slower ball from round the wicket. The delivery angled into the stumps and completely confused Pooran. He committed early to the flick but realised too late that the ball hadn’t reached him, leaving him unable to adjust in time.
Capitals gained control of the game as Mitchell Marsh battled through a slow, tempered pitch, with the exception of a boundary when he hit a six over square leg off Kuldeep Yadav. Attempting to go against the wrong'un, he misjudged it, leading to an easy catch for the fielder at long-off, getting out on 35 runs from 28 balls.
Debutant Mukul Choudhary (14) showed great intent early, hitting a reverse scoop four followed by another boundary behind the wicket to Kuldeep, and added 34 runs with Abdul Samad. However, he was removed in the next over as Kuldeep tricked him with a googly, only to edge it back to the bowler.
Samad showed some fight till the end, but was removed by Natarajan for 36 as the rest of the batters fell for just three runs in the end. Ngidi and Natarjan starred with the ball for Delhi, picking three wickets each after Yadav picked two.
Brief score:
Lucknow Super Giants (Mitchell Marsh 35, Abdul Samad 36; T Natarajan 3-29, Lungi Ngidi 3-31, Kuldeep Yadav 2-31) against Delhi Capitals.
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