David Warner. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)
During the toss of the third match of IPL 2023 against Lucknow Super Giants, Delhi Capitals’ skipper David Warner revealed that the new Impact Player rule could be quite confusing and stressful for the management.
Additionally, the southpaw also mentioned that it was a welcoming move since teams could play an additional batter or bowler in the team. However, in the match against the KL Rahul-led side, Delhi’s impact sub, Aman Khan failed to step up as the 26-year-old scored only four runs in five deliveries.
“It can be quite confusing, maybe stressful at times (impact player). But it’s a welcome addition to the tournament. Either it’s a batter more or bowler more,” Warner said at the toss.
Lucknow defeat Delhi by 50 runs in the third match of IPL 2023
Batting first, Lucknow had a phenomenal start, courtesy of Kyle Mayers. The West Indies international smashed 73 off 38 deliveries and set the tone of the match. Later, stumper-batter Nicholas Pooran played a brilliant cameo of 36 runs off 21 deliveries, while batting at number seven Ayush Badoni hit 18 off seven deliveries. With that, Lucknow put 193 runs on the board and started the second innings as the favourites to win the match.
The bowlers too lived up to their potential as Mark Wood picked up a brilliant five-for to destroy Delhi’s batting unit. The England international dismissed Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh and Sarfaraz Khan in quick succession which put Delhi on the back foot. Skipper David Warner tried to rescue the team and hit 56 runs off 48 deliveries which didn’t prove to be enough.
South Africa international Rilee Rossouw too tried to get going but Lucknow bowlers were all over Delhi. In the end, the visiting team lost the match by 50 runs and now, needs to go back to the dressing room and assess their performance. Especially, their batting, which absolutely flopped in their opening game of the season needs to be looked at and rearranged before embarking further on the journey. When it comes to Lucknow, they will be in a much better place after the win as it was a complete show from KL Rahul and company.
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