Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel (Image: IPL)
New Delhi: Rishabh Pant faces a defining season in IPL 2026 as he leads Lucknow Super Giants to the opener against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday. After a mixed first year as captain, Pant now has a fully fit squad, with key additions such as Mohamed Shami and Enrich Nortje to bolster the pace of the attack.
The return of Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan adds to the strength of the bowling.LSG’s batting appears to be stable, with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram at the top, while Pant is expected to bat at the top of the order alongside Nicholas Pooran.Meanwhile, Delhi is aiming for stability after the ups and downs it witnessed last season. KL Rahul is set to open, with options like Prithvi Shaw in contention. Their bowling remains a strength, led by spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, with Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan adding to the depth.
LSG vs DC head to head
- Total matches played: 7
- Lucknow Super Giants: 3
- Delhi Capitals: 4
LSG vs DC: Presentation Report
Pitch 4 is likely to be used for today’s match at Ikana Stadium. The average first innings score here last season was 187, down slightly from 203 in 2024. Weather conditions in Lucknow are expected to be clear, with temperatures around 28°C in the evening and no rain forecast.
LSG vs DC: Predicted XIs
Lucknow Super Giants Prediction XI: Mitchell Marsh*, Aiden Markram*, Nicholas Pooran*, Rishabh Pant (captain, week), Aayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Akshat Raghwanshi, Shehbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mayank Yadav, Digvesh RathiSub-influence: Anrich Nortje*Delhi Capitals Predicted XI: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka*, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs*, Axar Patel (captain), David Miller*, Ashutosh Sharma, Vibraj Nigam, Aqib Nabi, Dushmantha Chameera*, Kuldeep Yadav.Sub effect: T Natarajan
LSG vs. DC: Lucknow weather update
Clouds and sunshine are expected during the day, with temperatures reaching around 36°C.
The weather remains partly cloudy at night, with temperatures dropping to about 23 degrees Celsius.It is expected to be a hot evening during match time, with no rain expected. The temperature will likely be around 33°C at ejaculation and can drop to around 28°C by 11pm.
LSG vs DC: Live stream details
The LSG vs DC match will be held at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow and the match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM IST. The match will be broadcast on Star Sports Network, while the live stream will be available on JioHotstar.
LSG vs DC teams
Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant, Aayush Badoni, Matthew Bretzke, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Arsheen Kulkarni, Mitchell Marsh, Shehbaz Ahmed, Akash Maharaj Singh, Avish Khan, Mohammed Shami, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Arjun Sachin Tendulkar, Mayank Prabhu Yadav, Wanendu Hasaranga, Anreesh Nortje, Josh Inglis, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Noman Tiwari, Akshat Raghwanshi, Mohsin Khan, Manimaran Siddharth, Mukul Chaudhary.Capitals of Delhi: Abhishek Porel, KL Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Viraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Tripurana Vijay, David Miller, Aqib Nabi Dhar, Pathum Nissanka, Lungi Ngidi, Prithvi Shaw, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Jadhav Mandal, T Natarajan, Madhav Tiwari, Karun Nair, Sahil Parakh.
