the excitement of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee continues as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in Match 5 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Scheduled for 19:30 IST on April 1, the match marks the season opener for both teams and adds extra intensity to an already high-pressure contest.
All eyes will be on Rishabh Pant, who returns after a disappointing 2025 campaign in which LSG failed to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, Axar Patel takes over as DC’s full-time captain and leads a revamped squad that narrowly missed out on qualification last season. Adding more intrigue, Pant faces a former franchise while KL Rahul goes up against the team he once led.
DC will begin the campaign without star paceman Mitchell Starc, who is sidelined with shoulder and elbow injuries. In his absence, Lungi Ngidi and Dushmantha Chameera will lead the pace attack, while the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel will be crucial in the middle innings.
Aiden Markram for LSG enters the tournament in red-hot form, boasting an impressive strike rate in recent T20s. Form accelerator Auqib Nabi Dar He can be a game changer with his swing capable of troubling even the strongest batting line-up early on.
LSG vs DC: Probable 11th game for both teams
Lucknow Super Giants: Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Abdul Samad, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi, Dushmantha Chameera, Mohammed Shami
Impressive player selections: Shahbaz Ahmed/ Mayank Yadav
Capitals of Delhi: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Augib Nabi Dar, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar
Impressive player selections: Ashutosh Sharma/ T Natarajan
IPL Stats and Records at Ekana Cricket Stadium
- Matches played: 22
- Matches won in first innings: 9
- Matches won in second innings: 12
- Winner Winner Toss Matches: 14
- Matches won by Losing Toss: 7
- Drawless Matches: 1
- Highest individual score: 118* by Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Best Bowling Figures: 5/14 Mark Wood (Lucknow Super Giants) vs Delhi Capitals
- Highest Team Total: 235/6 (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Lucknow Super Giants
- Lowest Team Total: 108 (Lucknow Super Giants) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru
- Highest running chase: 177/2 (Punjab Kings) vs Lucknow Super Giants
Also READ: From Mayanti Langer to Sahiba Bali: Complete list of star hosts for IPL 2026
