Trent Boult continued his stellar record with the new ball as he picked up two wickets in his first two overs. (Image: Sportzpics)
The 23-year-old debutant for LSG, Devdutt Padikkal had a harsh welcome back to Jaipur as he was rattled with a fierce short delivery by Trent Boult followed by his wicket.
Devdutt Padikkal debuted for the Lucknow Super Giants in their opening fixture of the Indian Premier League 2024 (IPL 2024) against his former side Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. But the young left-hander who had a stellar start to his international career, was unable to make it count at the Pink City.
Coming in at number three, Padikkal was already under pressure following the early dismissal of the opening batter, Quinton de Kock. With the side chasing a high total of 194, LSG had to pick up the pace in the powerplay.
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Ahead of the tournament, Padikkal was in good touch as he made his Test debut in the series against England. In the final game at Dharamsala, the young batter brought up a fine half-century to help his side set up a big total and eventually win by an innings and 64 runs.
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But the youngster was visibly rocked as Trent Boult came in with a fiery bouncer which struck him on the helmet. Despite the aggression shown through his bowling, Boult sportingly came in immediately to check in on the 23-year-old to make sure he was fine to continue.
However, after the mandatory check-ups from the medical team, Padikkal was bamboozled as the New Zealand veteran came in with a full delivery which went on to crash on the stumps. Boult’s second wicket in the powerplay helped the Royals set the tone in the second innings.
But the LSG skipper KL Rahul and the West Indies batter, Nicholas Pooran managed to drag the game deep with a fairly measured approach and pick their moments to go big.
Both batters managed to bring up their fifties but it was in vain as LSG lost out to the home side by 20 runs.
Their next game will be against the Punjab Kings but this time the team will have home advantage as the match is set to take place at the Ekana Sports City, Lucknow.
