Delhi Capitals count on openers to deliver after opting to bowl first

After opting to bowl first, Delhi Capitals will be hoping for a more impactful start from their openers when they travel to the `City of Nawabs` to take on a resurgent Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday.

DC’s opening combination has been a revolving door this season, with Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abhishek Porel, and the most recent addition Karun Nair all tried at the top. In the last five matches alone, the franchise has fielded three different opening pairs among those four, producing partnerships of 23, 34, 0, 9, and 0, a concerning trend for a team with championship aspirations.

The instability is partly due to Du Plessis’ injury, and the South African’s fitness will be under scrutiny ahead of this clash. Fortunately, the Capitals have managed to win five of their seven games so far, thanks largely to a stable and efficient middle-order led by KL Rahul, which has functioned seamlessly despite the frequent top-order failures.

However, Lucknow’s bowling attack, featuring Digvesh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, and the often expensive but dangerous Shardul Thakur, has managed to stifle opposition batters without much flair or noise. Avesh’s performance against Rajasthan Royals, particularly his spells in the 18th and 20th overs during their narrow two-run win, stands as a testament to LSG’s ability to turn games on their head.

With that in mind, DC will be keen not to place the burden of recovery solely on Rahul and the middle-order once again. Instead, the franchise would prefer to see its openers set the tone, allowing the middle-order to consolidate rather than rebuild.

Conversely, Lucknow have been bolstered by a consistent top three comprising Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, and Aiden Markram — a trio that has given the team the upper hand during the Powerplay in several matches.

Travails of skippers Pant, Axar

Interestingly, the personal form of both captains stands in contrast to their teams’ success. Despite being level on 10 points, DC and LSG find themselves grappling with leadership form issues.

For LSG, Rishabh Pant’s struggles have been glaring, just 106 runs in eight games, with 63 of them in a single innings, and a strike rate of 98. Against DC, he will face a potent bowling lineup that includes Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Vipraj Nigam, and Mukesh Kumar.

On the flip side, Axar Patel has performed admirably with the bat, scoring 140 runs at a strike rate of 159. However, his bowling, his primary skill, has suffered, with only one wicket in seven matches at an economy rate of 9.36. The DC think tank may urge Axar to recalibrate and find the right balance between leadership, batting, and his all-important bowling role.