Delhi Capitals (DC) registered a resounding victory over the might Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Even while playing at their home ground, LSG were outplayed in all three 3 departments of the game, and it seemed that they were quite unfamiliar with their conditions. LSG chased down 160 runs with ease while 2.1 overs were left in the match and 8 wickets in hand. Let’s look at the key reasons for DC’s defeat.
Rishabh Pant’s questionable batting position
LSG’s openers Aiden Markram & Mitchell Marsh got the team off to a decent start with 87 runs in 10 overs. In the 12th over, Mitchell Starc was given the ball in hand and he deceived Pooran by bowling a slower short ball and enticed him to play a pull short but to only get bowled via an inside edge. Starc twice in IPL 2025 has got rid of Nicholas Pooran, and now Pooran has three back-to-back single-digit scores, a concerning stat for LSG.
Rishabh Pant astoundingly didn’t come at bat at No.4 nor No.5, and in fact he came at No.7 position. Rishabh Pant’s stumps were castled by Mukesh Kumar in the 20th over, and he was out on a golden duck. The visuals had shown that Rishabh Pant had some stripes on his right hand wrist, perhaps that was the reason for him to come late in batting; but why did he play the match if he wasn’t fully fit, as later he was also going to keep the wickets? LSG posted a below-par 159-6 score as Abdul Samad looked in all sorts of trouble while scoring 2 runs in 8 balls, who came as the No.4 position.
David Miller’s run-a-ball knock
David Miller had come into bat when LSG’s score was 107-3 in 13.2 overs as he had ample time to get his eye in. David Miller, though, played a run a run-a-ball knock of 14 runs in 15 balls and hit a solitary boundary. David Miller was seen struggling badly against Kuldeep Yadav as he wasn’t able to pick his wrong ones and prioritized strike rotation rather than playing a fearless brand of cricket
Miller, along with Ayush Badoni, stitched 49-run partnership in 34 balls, but the pitch wasn’t a spicy one. In the death overs, LSG couldn’t assert their dominance over DC’s bowlers as they scored 41 runs and lost 2 wickets. LSG’s batters looked in two minds whether to attack or defend and then got in a shell.
LSG’s batters’ underestimated Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar proved to be the thorn in the flesh for LSG’s batters. Mukesh Kumar got 4 huge scalps of Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni & Rishabh Pant. At 107-3 in 13.2 overs, Lucknow still had a ray of hope with the in form Mitchell Marsh present at strike after the dismissal of Abdul Samad.
On the last ball of 14th over, Mukesh Kumar bowled an inswinging yorker which stunned Marsh as he was late in getting bat to ball. Marsh looked all set to play a gigantic knock as his dismissal at 45 runs in 36 balls brought in DC back in game. LSG’s score at 14 overs was 110-4 Mukesh Kumar mixed his variations quite smartly in the 14th over.
In the 20th over Mukesh Kumar completed his 4 wicket haul by sending Badoni & Pant back in dug out. Mukesh Kumar now has 9 wickets to his name in 8 matches and his impeccable bowling has been quite productive so far. Mitchell Starc undoubtedly was and is the key asset of DC in bowling department, but the resurgence of Mukesh Kumar makes DC’s bowling department more lethal.
Also Read:Â DC vs LSG: Ashutosh Sharma’s Unbelievable Rise & Journey