LSG's lead pacer Thakur makes an impact

Shardul Thakur came good with twin strikes in the first over in the match against DC on Monday

IMAGE: Shardul Thakur came good with twin strikes in the first over in the match against DC on Monday. Photograph: BCCI

Lucknow Super Giants' bowler Shardul Thakur made the most of the opportunity he got in the match against Delhi Capitals on Monday.

Thakur, who went unsold at the mega auction, was brought in to replace an injured Mohsin Khan.

And what a start he got, in his first match of the season!

LSG's lead pacer picked two wickets in his very first over, taking out DC opener Jake Fraser-McGurk (1) and then dismissing No 3 batter Abhishek Porel for a duck.

He finished with figures of 2 for 19 in 2 overs.

Injuries to as many as four fast bowlers -- Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan and Akash Deep -- have dealt the team a massive setback and LSG's assistant coach Lance Klusener says his injury-hit team has no option but to "mix and match" until it starts getting players back.

They failed to defend 209 against Delhi Capitals on Monday night with dew also playing a part.

"At the moment, we don't have a lot of reserves with the ball, so we're going to have to just probably mix and match until we start getting players back," Klusener said at the post-match media interaction.

"But that's just the nature of it. We're going to have to stand up and stand tall with the bat in Hyderabad [venue of their next game] as we saw in the first game."

"We're looking forward to that, but as I said, it's an opportunity for some youngsters as well, getting their first opportunity. I was really happy for Shardul Thakur (injury replacement) -- two wickets in the first over," he added.

Nicholas Pooran is bowled by Mitch Starc, Pooran top-scored for LSG with 75 off 30 ball

IMAGE: Nicholas Pooran is bowled by Mitch Starc, Pooran top-scored for LSG with 75 off 30 ball. Photograph: BCCI

Though skipper Rishabh Pant felt LSG had enough runs on the board, Klusener felt they were 20 to 30 runs short.

"If I have to put a finger on it, I would like to say we've probably left 20 or 30 runs with the bat out there. That was probably why we ended up being under pressure with the ball.

"I thought they [DC] finished well with the bat, but the reason why we're in that position is because we didn't score enough runs, which we should have.

"I thought when the bowlers got it right, there was a little bit of spin, so I thought it was a very good wicket. There was a little bit in there for everybody."

Ashutosh Sharma played a blinder for Delhi Capitals to pull off a famous one-wicket win.