Mayers – grabbing the opportunity to showcase his skills

Mayers grabs the opportunity to showcase his skills in his first IPL match

The spotlight was on Mark Wood on Saturday night. That wasn’t surprising: it was a sensational spell of fast bowling. And it is not every day that a T20 match produces a five-wicket haul.

But, Kyle Mayers’ contribution was no less in Lucknow Super Giants’ resounding 50-run victory in the IPL at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium. It was around his 38-ball 73 that the Super Giants innings was built. The 30-year-old opener from the West Indies could not have hoped for a better start to his IPL career. He got a chance only because Quinton de Kock wasn’t available for the match.

“I have always dreamt of playing in the IPL; I got the opportunity today,” said the left-hander, who scored a double hundred on Test debut, against Bangladesh in 2021. “In my mind I always wanted to get a good start to show my ability and show my worth, and I thought I did that.”

Mayers said batting wasn’t easy. “It was a new surface,” he said. “None of my teammates knew how the surface would play. It was a slow start as we were trying to understand how the pitch was reacting and trying to adapt. I got stuck in, faced a few balls and then just executed my plans when the balls came in my area.”

He was all praise for Wood’s outstanding show. “To get five wickets in a T20 game is a real accomplishment,” Mayers said. “He bowled fast and challenged the batters by using the wicket.”