Delhi Capitals began IPL 2026 with a tense win over Lucknow Super Giants. Sameer Rizvi starred with a match-winning knock, earning praise from Kevin Pietersen. Experts questioned Rishabh Pant’s batting position and backed DC’s call to send Tristan Stubbs ahead of David Miller. Irfan Pathan flagged LSG’s weak batting depth and poor team balance.

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."