With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season set to begin, Delhi Capitals (DC) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are ready to engage in what can be a determining early-season game. Both franchises, having strategically made roster changes and revamped their coaching staffs, are faced with injury issues ahead of their opening match.
The pace attack of LSG has been badly hit as top Indian pacers such as Mayank Yadav, Akash Deep, and Avesh Khan have been denied opportunities to play the first match. DC’s strategy has been changed with English batter Harry Brook pulling out of the competition. This makes the next match an important chance for both teams to make a difference in spite of their team issues.
The game will take place at Dr. YSR Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, on Monday, March 24, 2025, at 7:30 PM IST.
A Battle of Redemption for Both Teams
Neither DC nor LSG qualified for the playoffs last year, and both teams will be looking to establish the tone for an improved season this year. Visakhapatnam, which is Delhi Capitals’ temporary home for two matches, is a chance for DC to take advantage of home conditions. But past experiences tell us that big scores are in the offing—the previous IPL match here witnessed Kolkata Knight Riders score a record 272 runs.
Head-to-Head Record:
Lucknow Super Giants are narrowly ahead of Delhi Capitals with a 3-2 edge in their last five meetings. But DC both times last year, which may provide them a psychological advantage.
Team Preview & Tactical Insights
Delhi Capitals
Injury/Unavailability: Harry Brook’s withdrawal compelled DC to review their batting lineup, but this also gives the chance to build the top order.
Tactics & Matchups: With LSG likely to field multiple left-handed batters in the middle order, Axar Patel might struggle, while Kuldeep Yadav and part-timer Tristan Stubbs could be useful with the spin.
Probable XI:
Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul, Axar Patel (c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan (Impact Sub: Karun Nair/Mohit Sharma)
Lucknow Super Giants
Injury/Unavailability: LSG’s pace bowling arsenal is severely depleted, with the top bowlers ruled out. Shardul Thakur has replaced Mohsin Khan in the team.
Tactics & Matchups: With only two left-handers in the top seven for DC, LSG’s spin strategy might come into consideration, with Ravi Bishnoi likely to be used as the top weapon.
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 Siddharth)
Did You Know?
Delhi Capitals hosted two home matches in Visakhapatnam during IPL 2024, winning one and losing the other. Both the matches were won by the team that batted first.
Rishabh Pant opened in a T20 match for the last time in November 2022. He only opened in IPL once, and that was in 2016.
KL Rahul has had the lowest powerplay strike rate of openers after IPL 2023, which might see him being pushed down to the middle order this year.
With both teams eager to start their campaign on a high note despite setbacks, this opening clash in Visakhapatnam could be a fascinating contest. Will DC make the most of home conditions, or can LSG defy the odds and snatch a crucial early win? source cricbuzz
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