LSG vs DC, IPL 2023: 3 player battles to watch out for

The third match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the former's first-ever home match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday, April 1.

KL Rahul-led LSG finished fourth in their debut campaign last year. They have not tampered much with their team combination, which boasts plenty of all-rounders.

LSG's major acquisition at the IPL 2023 mini-auction came in the form of Nicholas Pooran while they let go of Jason Holder and Dushmanta Chameera as well. LSG are also bolstered by the presence of speedster Mark Wood, who missed last season entirely due to injury.

DC, on the other hand, will have to make do without Rishabh Pant for the entire IPL 2023 campaign. Veteran opener David Warner has been entrusted to lead the side which has also made minor changes to their setup after their fifth-placed finish in IPL 2022.

The two relatively evenly matched sides will be eager to get off to a winning start in IPL 2023 and gather momentum as early as possible.

On that note, here are three player battles to watch out for in the upcoming riveting contest in Lucknow.

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#1 David Warner vs Mark Wood

The DC stand-in skipper will have a pivotal role to play in the franchise's proceedings this season.

Apart from guiding the side, he remains one of the most important batters in the side and is expected to forge a crucial pairing with Prithvi Shaw at the top of the order.

LSG will be on the lookout to negate the threat posed by David Warner early on and will be keen to unleash their speedster Mark Wood on the veteran Aussie batter.

The head-to-head record between the two overseas stars is interesting, to say the least. The Australian opener has scored 31 runs off 21 deliveries by Wood in the shortest format, losing his wicket once to the English pacer out of the two outings they have come across each other.

A lot rests on Wood as an early wicket might expose the relatively frail-looking DC middle order.

Should Warner dominate, he could set the game up for big hitters like Rovman Powell down the order.

Either way, this battle will set the tempo for the game.

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#2 Nicholas Pooran vs Kuldeep Yadav

While the former Caribbean skipper is among the best players of spin in the national setup, he is particularly shaky against left-arm wrist spin.

DC will be very keen to exploit this match-up, with statistics being greatly in the favor of Kuldeep Yadav.

The Indian wrist spinner has got the better of LSG's ₹16 crore acquisition on several occasions. Having only faced 16 balls, Nicholas Pooran has already lost his wicket twice to Kuldeep and has only scored 15 runs in the process.

Kuldeep will be thrust into the attack right after the powerplay and Pooran will have to overcome this major obstacle if he wishes to make a memorable debut with his new IPL franchise.

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#3 Rovman Powell vs Ravi Bishnoi

Another fascinating battle between a Caribbean big-bitter and a wily Indian leg-spinner is also on the cards.

Out of Ravi Bishnoi's 16 T20I wickets so far, three have been in the form of Rovman Powell, and that oscillates the momentum entirely towards the emerging leg-spinner.

Additionally, Bishnoi also got the all-rounder's wicket during the previous edition of the IPL.

Bishnoi has surprisingly faded away from the national team setup and is in desperate need of a solid IPL campaign to get back into the fray.

Powell, on the other hand, has risen among the ranks and currently leads the West Indies T20I team and is in impeccable form as well.

However, his form will be tested as an old match-up comes to greet him. Powell has faced 34 deliveries from Bishnoi, scoring only 28 runs at a strike rate of 82, losing his wicket to him four times (three in T20Is and one in IPL) in T20s.

Who will win the contest between LSG and DC in IPL 2023? Let us know what you think.