New Delhi: Rishabh Pant’s bold move to open the innings did not go as planned, as Lucknow Super Giants lost to Delhi Capitals in the opening match of IPL 2026, raising questions about his role at the top.Pant’s outing ended with a bizarre run-out in the third over. A straight drive from Mitchell Marsh was deflected into the stumps by Mukesh Kumar, which led to Pant being caught at just short at the non-striker’s end. The LSG captain, who scored 7 from 9 balls, walked off visibly frustrated after the unlucky dismissal.
He watches
Angkrish Raghuvanshi focused only on the team’s victories
Reflecting on the moment, Pant said: “I think the best way to recover from it is to ignore it. I think that’s the best way to look forward because you know something like this, you can’t control it, but thinking about it definitely puts you on the defensive.” He also admitted that the team struggled to build partnerships: “Look, that’s always the case, but you know the way we batted, we couldn’t keep the partnership going for long.”Pant’s promotion to the top spot, breaking the steady pair of Aiden Markram and Marsh, raised eyebrows. Speaking on whether he would continue in the opening role, he said: “I think it’s 50-50, but we’ll see. But he definitely sees me up the order.”LSG’s batting faltered throughout, managing just 141 in 18.4 overs despite a start from Markram and a fighting 35 from Marsh.
Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan shone with three wickets each, while Kuldeep Yadav scored crucial breakthroughs.
Rizvi and Stubbs secure victory for DC
Chasing 142, Delhi faced early trouble before Samir Rizvi (70*) and Tristan Stubbs (39*) cruised to a 119-run win. Rizvi’s bold strike turned the game on its head as DC chased down the target in 17.1 overs.With the opening trial a failure and LSG’s batting failure, Pant now faces a crucial call on where he stands going forward.