Mumbai: Delhi Capitals got off the mark in their opening game of TATA IPL 2026 with a nervy win against the Lucknow Super Giants. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, JioStar experts Kevin Pietersen and Irfan Pathan shared their thoughts on Sameer Rizvi’s coming-of-age knock, Rishabh Pant’s batting position, and DC’s last-minute change in the batting order, sending in Tristan Stubbs ahead of David Miller.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, JioStar expert Kevin Pietersen heaped praise on Sameer Rizvi while recalling the time spent with him last season as DC’s mentor:
“He played the situation beautifully, and I’m not surprised. I spent a lot of time with Sameer last season, watched him closely. He scored a hundred in a warm-up game but, unfortunately, couldn’t find a place in the first half of the tournament. However, when he got his opportunity later in the season, he showed what he was about, and everybody looked up and said, ‘This kid is a proper player, and we probably need to invest in him for a period of time.’ When you invest in a young player, you need that trust that the player can pay you back, and he has done exactly that in this game. He really delivered under pressure. Once you get your team over the line in a big game, especially the first game of the IPL, in a tense situation and a lot of eyeballs on you, not being in the first XI, winning that game makes you feel far better than just scoring a hundred in a high-scoring match.”
On Rishabh Pant’s batting position:
“I saw a lot of indiscipline from the LSG bowlers. Rishabh Pant addressed that, saying they needed to try everything to take wickets, and I completely understand that. But when you look at the strength and depth of LSG’s batting, is Rishabh Pant really an opening batter? I think he might have gone a little too far ahead of where he was in the line-up compared to last year. Last year, he moved down the order, and now suddenly it’s, ‘I’m going to come up to the top.’ I think he just needs to go out and enjoy his cricket. Don’t force yourself into batting at three, enjoy the luxury of that position. I think he puts himself under tremendous pressure by opening the batting.”
On DC Head Coach Hemang Badani making the last-minute change in the batting order:
“It’s not a very difficult decision. Tristan Stubbs is a Test batter at number three. You need someone who can face the new ball, someone who is really solid in defence, and someone who can absorb pressure. David Miller is a white-ball player, a finisher, and not the kind of player you would want to send in at that stage of the game. You’ve got a player in Tristan Stubbs who is full of confidence. You’re making it sound like it’s the best decision ever made. But when you’re four down for 20, and it’s between Tristan Stubbs and David Miller, who are you sending in? You’re sending in Tristan Stubbs.”
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Google Search AI Mode Match Centre Live’, JioStar expert Irfan Pathan pointed out the balance issue in LSG’s playing XI, given that an all-rounder came in as an impact player:
“When they got the first four wickets, they would have thought they had the game in their hands. If they kept taking wickets, they might have won it despite such a small target. The only thing they need to worry about is not their bowling or fielding, but their batting. Their batting still goes only up to seven. Even in the playing XI, when they announced the squad, Shahbaz Ahmed wasn’t there, and he isn’t even a pure batter, he’s an all-rounder. Yes, he has scored nearly 400 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, so he is in form. But you brought him in as an impact player and sacrificed a proper bowler in Digvesh Rathi. I think they need to sort out their balance. You need at least eight batters, especially on days when you collapse like that. You need to add one more batter there.”
