The Delhi Capitals beat the Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in comfortable fashion after an initial wobble in Match 5 of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Being put into bat, LSG’s innings was never got moving as they were bowled out for 141. Delhi executed their bowling plans with perfection, with Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan picking up three wickets each. Kudeep Yadav and Axar Patel tightened the screws in the middle overs, as LSG kept losing their way. Marsh’s 35, filled with attractive shots, and Abdul Samad’s 36 in the back end took the Super Giants to past 140.
In response, Delhi’s innings started with the loss of KL Rahul On the first ball, as he sliced a lofted drive to third-man off Mohammed Shami’s bowling. Delhi found themselves reeling at 33/4 at the end of the powerplay, with Lucknow tearing through with great bowling on a helpful wicket.
Sameer Rizvi, coming in as the impact player, along with Tristan Stubbs, took the Delhi Capitals home with an unbeaten 119-run partnership. They absorbed the pressure and took on the Lucknow bowlers once set, and led the capitals home with seventeen balls to spare. Rizvi remained unbeaten on 70 off just 47 balls, while Stubbs stood unbeaten on 39.
Talking points
1) New role for Rishabh Pant?
It surprised many when LSG captain Rishabh Pant walked out to open alongside Mitchell Marsh instead of South Africa’s Aiden Markram, who was Marsh’s reliable partner in 2025. Pant did not have a great outing, being run-out in unfortunate fashion, as a stray ball hit by Marsh ricocheted off Mukesh Kumar’s hands onto the stumps. Whether this was a move to combat the threat of left-arm spinner Axar Patel or a genuine fixture for the season remains to be known.
2) Natarajan makes impressive return
T Natarajan missed most of the 2025 season through injury. The Tamil Nadu speedster was signed by the Delhi Capitals for a whopping INR 10.75 crores, backing his talent as a death bowler. And he proved them right, finishing with 3/29 from his four overs. He was the pick of the bowlers for the Capitals, taking down the Lucknow batters with his control and variations. His form will be key in the absence of Mitchell Starc, as a difference point with his left-arm angles.
3) Sameer Rizvi’s rescue act
Sameer Rizvi, in 2024, was signed as one of the most hyped uncapped players for a whopping INR 8.40 crore, but failed to live up to the price tag and potential. At the last Mega Auction before the 2025 season, the Delhi Capitals picked him for INR 95 lakh. A year on, he was given the nod over Delhi’s reliable finisher Ashutosh Sharma and repaid the faith with a brilliant unbeaten 70 off 47 balls, an innings of maturity and composure, rescuing Delhi from the initial wobble.
Who said what?
Rishabh Pant, Lucknow Super Giants captain
“Best way to recover from my dismissal is to ignore it as you can’t control it. The way we batted, we couldn’t get a partnership for long. The plan was for Pooran to take on the middle overs from No. 5. We had to get someone who could add a few runs as the impact player because we didn’t have enough, on a good pitch. e had a role defined for Badoni, when we lose early wickets, that’s the time he can make a mark. We wanted to explore left-right at the top as to stop them from bowling from the left-arm spinner. There was enough help with the new ball. But you can’t put pressure on the opposition with 140. 20 extras hurt, at the same time, you try too much on a wicket like this and are trying to restrict them under 140. 50-50 call, but definitely we’ll see me in the top order.”
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals captain
” The game finished early but middle it had become close. We just needed one partnership and that’s what we spoke about in the break. Very happy with the bowling effort. When we started with the ball, we knew there was a bit of help for the bowlers, that was communicated to whoever was coming onto bowl. You see how the match is going, there was a bigger and smaller boundary, and I was seeing who I can bowl, in the end I might have miscalculated. The plan was to play Rizvi, but also have the option to Ashutosh Sharma. Last year Ashu did it in the first game and this time Rizvi. He works hard on his game and keeps asking how he can improve himself.”
Sameer Rizvi, Player of the Match
“In the practice sessions the coaches backed me, told me I would bat at number 4 and gave me the confidence. We had good sessions and that’s what I try to replicate. If you play at a particular venue then you know how to play, my state matches are played here [Lucknow], so I knew how to go about. The plan was to be positive, but we lost two wickets in one over, so we decided to bat deep and that was the discussions with Stubbs as well. I tried to put the loose delivery away and that was my plan throughout the innings.”
