CHENNAI: Riding on Kuldeep Yadav's 3 for 20, Delhi Capitals restricted Lucknow Super Giants to 167 for 7 in 20 overs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
Kuldeep was at his aggressive best, bowling probing lines, keeping it tight and not allowing the width for the Lucknow batters to play their shots. He was so accurate that the majority of Lucknow batters at times found him unplayable. The only saving grace for Lucknow was a polished 55 not out by Ayush Badoni.
Opting to bat, Lucknow lost their ace opener Quinton de Kock early. The South African was trapped right in front by Khaleel Ahmed. After that, it was a virtual disaster with Lucknow as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Kuldeep's first over did the trick for Delhi who were in desperate need of a few vital breakthroughs. Kuldeep did not disappoint and accounted for Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran off successive deliveries. This twin blow put Lucknow on the back foot.
Rahul (39) was in good touch and had executed a beautiful cover drive off Khaleel but was now under immense pressure to bail out his side. Rishab Pant shuffled his bowlers well and set the right fields to maintain the pressure. KL Rahul perished under pressure as he failed to play his natural game. Kuldeep bowled a straighter delivery outside off, that was a tad low, Rahul went for a late cut and the ball kissed the bottom part of the blade and went straight into the hands of Pant.
Lucknow managed to somewhat recover from this big blow thanks to Ayush Badoni's calculated assault. The twenty-four-year-old was harsh on Delhi medium pacers scoring boundaries at will and careful against the spinners. His valuable innings gave something for Lucknow to stage a fightback.
Brief scores:
LSG: 167/7 in 20 ovs (Ayush Badoni 55 n.o.; Kuldeep Yadav 3/20) vs DC