With an undefeated 70 and a 119-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs, Sameer Rizvi helped the Delhi Capitals start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign with a crushing six-wicket victory over the Lucknow Super Giants at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday.
From the beginning, the LSG’s plan centered on a pace bowling assault; as a result, the four-pronged seam attack made it simple for them to put the Delhi Capitals under pressure early in their chase of 142 runs.
From the very first ball, the seamers generated plenty of opportunity for movement, which turned out to be too much for KL Rahul (0), who sliced a full outswinger delivery from Mohammad Shami to deep backward point.
Nitish Rana had a difficult time as well, getting a few boundaries off of bad pitches but mostly failing to get into his rhythm before edging a ball from Mohsin Khan to the keeper after a hesitant stay.
Yadav made a significant contribution with the ball. After forcing Pathum Nissanka to hit a top edge shot, which Rishabh Pant caught after running in at an angle and diving, causing him to collide with the fence, he then produced the standout delivery of the Power-play with one that swung late and hit Axar Patel’s stumps after he attempted to flick the ball away on a fuller delivery that had previously swung away from him.
LSG maintained speed throughout the innings, even forcing Mohammed Shami to deliver his whole quota in the first nine overs in search of further breakthroughs as the ball continued to seam and swing late in the innings.
In spite of the fall, Sameer Rizvi attempted to turn the tables. At first, he had trouble finding openings, but then he hit a clever six off a short pitch.
After this, he hit three boundaries on a rare off day for Shahbaz Ahmed. The game’s balance was maintained, however, despite the momentary change in momentum.
Earlier, when asked to bat first, LSG unveiled a new opening batting partnership as captain Rishabh Pant promoted himself to the top order but was dismissed early in the innings due to a terrible runout.
Mitchell Marsh was run out after a bizarre moment in what may have been a caught-and-bowled opportunity. Pant was seven runs short of his crease when the ball touched Mukesh Kumar slightly and struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
With an outstanding new-ball stint, Mukesh Kumar established the tone, giving up less than a run every ball in the powerplay while getting swing and seam and keeping Mitchell Marsh quiet outside off.
Soon after being hit for six, Axar Patel then bowled in his signature style, fooling Aiden Markram with a skiddy, angled delivery, as DC held LSG to 48/2.
After Ayush Badoni defeated T. Natarajan in a tight contest, the downfall continued with Nicholas Pooran being outwitted by a beautiful, slower delivery from Lungi Ngidi.
As Marsh tried to face Kuldeep Yadav, Delhi increased its hold when he was out for 35, and rookie Mukul Choudhary briefly impressed with a quick 14 before being caught out by a googly.
Natarajan ultimately fired Abdul Samad, who put up a fight with 36, which set off a late collapse where the remaining players only scored three runs.
Kuldeep contributed two wickets to a strong bowling performance for DC, led by Natarajan and Ngidi, who each grabbed three wickets.
Rizvi showed great poise under pressure, demonstrating that the Delhi Capitals made the right decision by choosing him as the Impact Player over candidates such as Karun Nair and Ashutosh Sharma.
Rizvi recovered from a difficult beginning where he had trouble scoring, going 0 of 9 and then 5 of 13 against LSG’s formidable seam bowlers, to form a 119-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs off 76 balls.
In their overs, he made the most of the limited spin he had, smashing four fours and a six while being very aggressive against Shahbaz Ahmed and Aiden Markram.
Rizvi’s innings, in which he scored a well-deserved fifty off 37 balls, was crucial in turning the tide and giving DC a commanding position in a difficult chase.
Rizvi remained undefeated at 70, while Stubbs scored 39 not out, leading Delhi Capitals to start their season in style with a six-wicket victory against the home team LSG.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 141 all out in 18.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 35, Abdul Samad 36; T Natarajan 3-29, Lungi Ngidi 3-31 Kuldeep Yadav 2-31)
Delhi Capitals 145/4 in 17.1 overs (Sameer Rizavi 70 not out, Tistan Stunns 39 not out; Prince Yadav 2-20, Mohsin Khan 1-19)