Live Report - IPL 2023: Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals, Lucknow

An explosive 38-ball 73 from Kyle Mayers on IPL debut and a blistering spell of fast bowling from Mark Wood, who was featuring in only his second IPL game, razed Delhi Capitals in Lucknow.

Mayers might not have even played this game for Lucknow Super Giants had Quinton de Kock been available for the franchise. He was dropped on 14 by Khaleel Ahmed and in the powerplay, he managed only a run-a-ball 17. The left-handed batter then lined up Capitals' left-arm spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav to finish with almost two runs a ball; Super Giants finished with an above-par 193 for 6 on a challenging pitch.

Wood then took the pitch out of the equation and knocked over Prithvi Shaw and Mitch Marsh with 147kph thunderbolts. He went onto become the second England player after Dimitri Mascarenhas to bag a five-wicket haul in the IPL. Though Capitals' new captain David Warner made a half-century, he couldn't keep in touch with the mounting asking rate. Capitals eventually fell short of their target by 51 runs.

The full report will be up on the site shortly.

The asking rate has sprilled out of control. Bishnoi castles Powell with a typically skiddy wrong'un while Warner holes out, trying to clear the boundary. The game is all but over for DC.

After making a splash for Multan Sultans, the team coached by Andy Flower in the PSL, Rossouw is now making a strong impression for Capitals against Super Giants, the team coached by Flower in the IPL. He lays into Bishnoi, taking him for 4,4,6 in the tenth over, but the wristspinner bounces back to have Rossouw caught by Mayers, who is just behind the keeper, off the back of the bat for 30 off 20 balls. The appeal and review was originally for lbw, but Rossouw falls caught behind in fairly bizarre fashion. The asking rate has ballooned to 13 an over for DC. Can Warner and Powell prick it?

LSG are without the injured Mohsin Khan. Avesh Khan has left the field with a potential hand injury. But Wood has arrived. He bangs another explosive bouncer, this keeps skidding in towards the throat/head of Sarfaraz who loses his shape and drops to the floor. He aims to ramp it over deep third, but somehow ends up guiding it to the right of deep fine leg for 4 off 9 balls. Believe it or not, Wood's figures are 2-0-3-3.

Mark Wood bullies batters with pace and bounce. Pace close to 150kph and trampoline bounce. But the IPL hasn't seen much of him. Five years after his only previous game, for CSK, Wood storms through the defences of Shaw and Marsh off back-to-back deliveries in his very first over for LSG.

After pushing Shaw back with the bouncer, Wood knocks Shaw over with a full rocket at 147kph. The next ball to Mitch Marsh is almost a replay of the previous delivery - skidding through low and zipping back in off the seam.

Cameos from Pooran (36 off 21), Badoni (18 off 7) have lifted LSG to 187 on a two-paced Ekana pitch. Such a tall total looked away from their reach when they crawled to their lowest powerplay score of 30 for 1. Mayers then played a starring role on IPL debut, lining up DC's left-arm spinners. It will be Capitals' fifth-highest chase if they get there.

After finishing his four overs with the ball, Khaleel leaves the field. Aman Khan, who was with KKR last season, comes in as the Impact Player. Ricky Ponting had talked him up ahead of IPL 2023.

And with just one ball left in LSG's innings, they've brought in K Gowtham as an Impact Player for Badoni. He makes an instant impact, launching Sakariya for six. With Warner and Rossouw in DC's potential top three, will Gowtham take the new ball for LSG during their defence?

Mayers was looking good for a hundred, but Axar strikes back and rips one in from a fifth-stump line to hit off stump to remove him for 73 off 38 balls. Soon after, Khaleel comes back into the attack and has Marcus Stoinis nicking off for 12 off ten balls. Khaleel extracts extra bounce and does Stoinis in.

Some balls are popping up at the batter from a back of a length on this two-paced track. There is also fizzing turn for both Axar and Kuldeep. Big challenge ahead of LSG's new finisher Nicholas Pooran. LSG are 127 for 4 in 15 overs.

In 2012, Mayers was busy topping bowling charts for West Indies at a World Cup in Australia. However, a series of unexpected events, including a T20 stint in Oslo in Norway in 2018, transformed Mayers into a batting allrounder. He has bossed the CPL, and now on IPL debut, he has cracked a 28-ball half-century.

If de Kock had been available, Mayers might have been on the bench. Mayers' innings could've been cut short on 14 had Khaleel not dropped him. He has now seized his chance and is now tearing DC's left-hander heavy bowling line-up into shreds.

Hooda holes out for 17 off 18 balls, but Mayers is going at two runs a ball on a two-paced track. He is currently on 72 off 36 balls.

Khaleel Ahmed finds swing in the early exchanges, as does debutant Mukesh Kumar. But it is Chetan Sakariya who makes the first incision, having Rahul holing out to deep square leg with a cutter into the pitch. The left-arm seamer has now dismissed Rahul three times in four IPL innings. The LSG captain is gone for 8 off 12 balls this time.

Kyle Mayers, who is making his IPL debut in place of Quinton de Kock, is also slow off the blocks. Sakariya could've also snagged the WI allrounder in the powerplay had Khaleel held onto a fairly straightforward catch at short third. LSG crawl to 30 for 1 in six overs - their lowest powerplay score.

So its the away team that draws first... you know the cliche.

Delhi Capitals have won the toss and they'll bowl against Lucknow Super Giants.

DC: Warner, Shaw, Rossouw, Marsh, Sarfaraz, Powell, Axar, Khaleel, Kuldeep, Sakariya, Mukesh Kumar
Subs: Aman Khan, Praveen Dubey, Manish Pandey, Lalit Yadav, Abishek Porel

LSG: Rahul, Mayers (in place of de Kock who is on national duty), Hooda, Pooran, Stoinis, Badoni, Krunal, Avesh, Bishnoi, Unadkat, Wood.
Subs: Yash Thakur, K Gowtham, Prerak Mankad, Amit Mishra, Daniel Sams

These two teams look pretty strong.

Capitals with Warner as captain may not be such a bad thing. He's the kinda guy you want in your corner. Everything he does, right down to those balls he chases allllllll the way to the boundary, shows he just does not have quit in him.

And around this captain is a splendid core of top order batting, starting with Prithvi Shaw, who was in the news over the Indian domestic season for the good stuff, and the not so good. Incredible hitter, and one who takes no time to get going. Mitchell Marsh is the same way. When he gets those big burly arms of his swinging through the line of the ball, there's only one place it's heading. The bowling has variety - actually maybe too much with Sakaryia, Axar, Kuldeep and Khaleel all being left-arm bowlers!

Supergiants are led by the batter who keeps hoarding Orange Caps. Rahul has been a run-machine in the IPL, but often he finds himself in teams where its him or bust. This time around, he'll hope its different. And perhaps it will be with Nicholas Pooran and No. 4 and Marcus Stoinis lower down. And the Impact Player option giving a team bursting with allrounders even more flexibility