🏏IPL 2025 - Match 4: DC vs LSG, 24 March 2025 @ 7:30 PM IST🏏

🏏IPL 2025 - Match 4: DC vs LSG at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on 24 March 2025 at 7:30 PM IST🏏

Spotlight on Rahul and Pant as DC and LSG begin new season with new hope

The long list of missing fast bowlers is a handicap for LSG as both teams begin new era with new personnel

Rahul, Pant, and points to prove

The IPL has always had players facing their former teams, but this season, there's added spice to these contests.

KL Rahul, former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain, will play for Delhi Capitals (DC), while Rishabh Pant faces his old franchise DC after becoming IPL's costliest auction signing. What's more, they start their season against each other. In Visakhapatnam, DC's second home, on Monday evening.

The last images from Rahul's time with LSG were of what looked like an animated discussion with team owner Sanjiv Goenka after the team's exit from IPL 2024. Afterwards, Goenka expressed a desire to have "players with a mindset to win" and Rahul wanted to feel "loved and cared for".

On Monday, Rahul could possibly start - we don't know yet if he may have to fly home for personal reasons. When he does, he'll have started without the captaincy mantle that is with Axar Patel - after Pant's "devastating" exit.

Meanwhile, Pant will lead LSG at a venue where he received a hero's welcome last year after he returned to action from a career-threatening accident. But this game is more than about Rahul and Pant.

It pits two teams eager to carve a new identity after squad revamps, and, in DC's case, support staff overhaul. LSG faces challenges with with all their main Indian quicks injured or in rehab or, in Mohsin Khan's case, ruled out. DC have strengthened their attack with Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma and T Natarajan, while Mukesh Kumar, Axar and Kuldeep Yadav are still there.

Looking at that, this could well be a contest between LSG's batting and DC's bowling.

[Tag and Logo credit to Wildestdreams]

New loyalties

Pant has played all 111 of his IPL games for DC after starting in 2016, and on Monday, he will face them for the first time. Rahul, who led LSG to back-to-back playoffs, now has a chance to make a statement with the bat, continuing the aggressive brand of cricket he played in India's Champions Trophy glory run.

Mitchell Marsh had a productive IPL 2022 for DC - hitting 251 runs with a best of 89. In IPL 2023, he picked up 12 wickets at 14.16. Now, he joins LSG as a batter because of recurrent injuries.

The big question

Where should Pant bat?

Data backs the theory that he could be unleashed to open thanks to the presence of two spin-bashers in Nicholas Pooran and David Miller lower down. Among 29 batters to have scored 400 or more runs against spinners in the middle overs since IPL 2019, Pooran's strike rate of 154.31 is the best. Miller, meanwhile, strikes at 135.38, nearly ten runs more than Pant.

In the spotlight: Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur

Axar Patel will be a full-time IPL captain for the first time. One of DC's four retentions, Axar has been key to India's triumph at both the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy by giving the team management batting flexibility, apart from reliability with the ball. Axar has previously led his state team Gujarat in 23 matches across formats, most recently in the domestic white-ball competitions, but IPL will be a different challenge.

After initially going unsold, Shardul Thakur's strong performances with bat and ball for Mumbai in the domestic circuit have earned him a late opportunity with LSG. His county stint with Sussex, which could have boosted his national selection chances for the England tour, is now off, and this is another chance for Thakur to prove his all-round value to remain in national contention.

Key stats

• LSG's win percentage of 73 batting first is the highest among all teams since IPL 2022.
• DC's quick bowling pack had the poorest economy rate (10.7) among all the teams in IPL 2024, so there will be a lot of expectations on the revamped line-up.
• Rahul's 3958 runs are the mostby any batter in the IPL since 2018.
• Pooran is the most prolific six-hitter in T20s since 2024, with 187 sixes. Heinrich Klaasen comes a distant second with 117.

Pitch and conditions:

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) shellacked 272 here last year, an IPL record at the time. In 19 games at the Andhra Premier League in August, 200 was crossed just once. But that shouldn't be the barometer to gauge the surface, for the quality of players is vastly different. In all T20s in Visakhapatnam, runs have been scored at 9.2 an over, the third-highest among all Indian venues behind Hyderabad (9.7) and Bengaluru (9.2).

Pitch Report for DC vs LSG Match

The ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam is expected to benefit batters, with typical first innings scores averaging around 170. Fans can anticipate a high-scoring match between DC and LSG.

Recent IPL games at this venue support this trend: Delhi Capitals scored 191/5 against Chennai Super Kings, who managed 171/6 in response. Kolkata Knight Riders recorded an impressive 272/7, though Delhi Capitals were bowled out for 166 in the subsequent match, highlighting that while big scores are achievable, teams can also face collapses.

Pitch Report for DC vs LSG Match

DC vs LSG: Vizag Weather prediction
Although there may be some daytime showers, the DC vs. LSG match is likely to proceed without major rain delays. Increased humidity could give fast bowlers an advantage, and temperatures are expected to remain comfortable in the high 20s throughout the game.

Next three fixtures

DC are set for a prolonged stay in Visakhapatnam, where they will next play Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 30 - a game that will test crowd loyalty, considering local boy Nitish Kumar Reddy will play for the "away" team. Their third game will be against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Chennai.

After Monday, LSG make a quick hop across to Hyderabad to play SRH on March 27, before going home to Lucknow for their first home game, against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

Team Watch:

Delhi Capitals:

Injury/Unavailability: Harry Brook has pulled out of the IPL, which could potentially affect DC's plans. But that also opens doors for them to strengthen their top order.

Tactics & Matchups: LSG are likely to have three to four left-handers in their middle order, which could potentially dent Axar Patel's effectiveness through the middle. However, that could also make the role of Kuldeep Yadav and the part-time offspin of Tristan Stubbs more handy.

Probable XI: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul, Axar Patel © , Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, (Impact Sub: Karun Nair/Mohit Sharma)

Lucknow Super Giants:

Injury/Unavailability: Shardul Thakur has come in as a replacement for Mohsin Khan, but LSG have been hit with a slew of injuries to their Indian pacers, with even Mayank Yadav, Akash Deep and Avesh Khan likely to be unavailable for the opening game.

Tactics & Matchups: Axar Patel and Abhisek Porel are the only left-handers in the DC top-seven. That could give LSG spinners a bigger role to play in a side that is likely to be thin on their pace reserves.

Probable XI: Arshin Kulkarni, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant (c/wk), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravi Bishnoi, Shamar Joseph (Impact Sub: Akash Singh/Shahbaz Ahmed/Manimaran Siddarth)

Did you know?

DC played two home games in Visakhapatnam in IPL 2024, winning one and losing the other. Both games at the venue were won by the side batting first

Rishabh Pant last opened the batting in T20s in Nov 2022. In the IPL, he last opened in 2016

Since 2023, KL Rahul has the third lowest strike-rate among openers in IPL, and the second-lowest powerplay strike rate among openers. He could be pushed to the middle order this season.

When: Monday, March 24, 2025, 7:30 PM IST

Where: Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants, Dr. YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam

What to expect: The last time an IPL game was played at this venue, Kolkata Knight Riders had plundered 272 runs. Given the impacted pace attack of LSG, DC have the opportunity to display their attacking chops in what could be a high-scoring encounter. Interestingly, both the IPL contests played at the venue were won by teams batting first.