Lucknow Super Giants vs Delhi Capitals, IPL 2026, Lucknow: DC found themselves in all sorts of trouble in the modest chase of 142 against LSG at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in the fifth match of the Indian Premier League this season. Having decided to bowl first, the Capitals restricted the Super Giants to 141, with Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan doing the bulk of the damage with the ball, picking up six wickets among themselves. Mitchell Marsh and Abdul Samad were the only batsmen to score some runs, adding to Lucknow’s misery.
Delhi Gets Out of Jail vs LSG
What should have been a comfortable chase for the Capitals unraveled instantly, as KL Rahul fell for a golden duck to Mohammed Shami off the very first ball of the innings. Nitish Rana soon followed suit in the fourth over of the innings, leaving Delhi in a spot of bother. The fifth over saw Pathum Nissanka and Axar Patel getting dismissed in successive balls, reducing the visitors to 26 for 4 in 4.3 overs. Lucknow, by then, had its tail up, and one more wicket from there, and they would have fancied their chances of bowling out Delhi for less than what was required.
Badani’s Master-Stroke That Changed The Outcome
David Miller was slotted to come in next, and as he was preparing to enter the field, Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani sprinted in from the dressing room, intercepting the moment to halt the Proteas left-hander from taking the field. Instead, he chose to send Tristan Stubbs, another South African batsman, who brings different skills to the table. Delhi at the point wanted someone who could hold one end up, as Sameer Rizvi at the other end seemed to have got a measure of things. Even when Miller was the more experienced batsman in the IPL.
WATCH VIDEO:
The moment when Hemang Badani made a bold decision in yesterday’s match and changed the fortune of DC, and also the brilliance from Rizvi and Stubbs.pic.twitter.com/u08vJNxy4Z
— Tapish (@crictapish) April 2, 2026
Stubbs did exactly that, anchored the innings, letting Rizvi play his natural game. The duo went on to add 119 runs of 76 balls and helped Delhi to get off to a winning start in IPL 2026. Stubbs remained unbeaten on 39 off 32 balls, while Rizvi scored a brilliant 47-ball 70 to see the Capitals through. Badani’s decision to send Stubbs stands as a master stroke in the context of the game now.
“He (Rizvi) works hard on his game and keeps asking how he can improve himself,” said Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel after the game.
Talking about his match-winning knock, Rizvi said that his experience of playing in the same ground helped him to get a measure of things and play accordingly.
“If you play at a particular venue, then you know how to play. Our state team plays here. So we have played a lot of matches. So that thing was helping,” said the 22-year-old at the end of the match.
