LSG vs DC: Why was Anrich Nortje taken off attack midway through his third over?

Delhi Capitals fans would have heaved a sigh of relief seeing Anrich Nortje’s name in the Delhi Capitals playing XI during the side’s clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Thursday (April 7). After all, the South African pacer is one of the fastest bowlers going around and had done well in the IPL previously. However, Nortje was far away from his best against LSG and was smashed all over the park.

Making a return from injury, the right-arm pacer conceded 35 runs in just 2.2 overs before being taken out of the attack. Apparently, Nortje was found guilty of delivering two beamers in the game, and hence, he wasn’t allowed to complete his third over.  Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was asked to complete the 16th over and he returned with the prized scalp of Quinton de Kock after getting smashed for two boundaries in the same over.

Forgettable outing for Anrich Nortje

Coming back to Nortje, it was a forgettable outing for the speed merchant as he hardly had any control over his line and length. Though he bowled with pace, lack of control meant LSG batters dispatched his deliveries all over the park. Notably, it was a low-scoring game where LSG had a hard time while chasing 150.

They crossed the line with just a couple of deliveries to spare. Hence, it won’t be wrong to state Nortje’s horrendous outing cost DC a second win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Instead, the Rishabh Pant-led side has now suffered two successive defeats after winning their season opener.

Meanwhile, dew was one of the major reasons why Nortje had a hard time against the KL Rahul-led side. While the DC skipper acknowledged the same after the game, the southpaw admitted his side was a few runs short. “When the dew is like that you can’t be complaining, as a batting unit we were 10-15 short, at the end Avesh (Khan) and (Jason) Holder pulled it back, credit to them,” said Pant after the conclusion of the game.