Lucknow, April 1 (IANS) West Indies batter Kyle Mayers announced his arrival with impactful innings on his debut in Indian Premier League (IPL), capitalising on an early life to blaze to 73 off 38 balls and help Lucknow Super Giants post 193/6 against Delhi Capitals here on Saturday.
Mayers, filling in for the absent Quinton de Kock, smacked seven big sixes as he batted brilliantly on a pitch on which his skipper K.L Rahul struggled to get going while teammates Deepak Hooda (17), Marcus Stoinis (12) and Krunal Pandya (15 not out off 12) found the going tough on a pitch that helped some help to the bowlers.
Nicholas Pooran hammered 26 runs off 21 balls and Ayush Badoni smacked a couple of sixes in the final over as Lucknow Super Giants posted a good total despite Delhi Capitals bowlers pulling things back a bit.
Asked to bat first on a pitch offering assistance to both pacers and spinners with seam, bounce and turn, Lucknow got off to a cautious start and were 30/1 at the end of the Power-play.
Skipper K.L Rahul after blasting a Chetan Sakariya half-volley for a bit six, fell in the fourth over, foxed by a slower one from the same bowler and flicked it loosely to deep backward square leg to take the long walk back to the dug-out.
Sakariya could have had the other opener Mayers too in the sixth over, getting him to uppishly cut a slower bouncer over the short third man where Khaleel Ahmed put down an easy catch. He was on 14 and made Delhi Capitals, who dropped a couple of more chances and also misfielded on a few occasions, pay for the mistake.
Mayers, the 30-year-old big left-hander from Barbados, went ballistic after the initial period of cautious play as he hammered a flurry of sixes to slam a 38-ball 73 that propped up the LSG innings.
He started by planting a wide, length ball by Mukesh Kumar 10-yards behind the rope in the seventh over and then struck an even bigger one a ball later, planting it into the second tier.
In the next over, Mayers struck Axar Patel for a four off the first delivery and then slog-swept the next one flat over the head of Mitchell Marsh, who had run five yards in from the backward square boundary and the ball sailed just over the rope.
The West Indies batter raced to his half-century off 28 balls with a six off Kuldeep Yadav and then smoked Axar Patel for back-to-back sixes in the 10th over. A massive flat-drive for a six off Kuldeep Yadav off the first delivery of the 11th over was his last big hit as he departed in the next over, cleaned up by Axar Patel with one that turned big from a good length and into the stumps as Mayers attempted a cut.
He added 79 runs for the second wicket partnership with Deepak Hooda, in which the latter contributed only 17 runs before holing out a drive to Warner off Kuldeep Yadav.
The Delhi bowlers used the conditions well and pulled back things a bit after the Mayers-fuelled LSG were 98/1 at the midway stage. Khaleel Ahmed, who was substituted by Aman Khan as Impact Player, claimed 2-30 from his four overs.
Marcus Stoinis (12) got out soon but former West Indies captain, Nicholas Pooran slammed a 21-ball 36 — blasting two fours and three sixes. Ayush Badoni (18 off 7 balls) blasted back-to-back sixes in the final over bowled by Sakariya and Impact Player K Gautham blasted a huge six off the only ball he faced as Lucknow Super Giants 22 runs from the over and reached a total worth defending.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 193/6 in 20 overs (Kyle Mayers 73, Nicholas Pooran 36, Ayush Badoni 18; Khaleel Ahmed 2-30) v Delhi Capitals.
–IANS
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