Momentum could be the key word for teams in the Indian Premier League’s crucial mid-phase — a make or break period for all teams, who by now have found their core, and either look to sustain the run or get their act together before it gets too late. With two losses in their last three games, second-placed Delhi Capitals will hope to get back their mojo when they take on a spirited No.5-ranked Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow in a league match on Tuesday.

Having said that, Delhi Capitals are yet to get a settled opening unit, as the franchise had tried three different combinations in their past five outings without much success. The injury to South African veteran and team’s vice captain Faf du Plessis has complicated their combination, and the franchise would be hoping that the star right-hander returns to fitness soon.

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While they started with Faf and Jake Fraser-McGurk, the former Protea skipper’s injury forced them to elevate Abhishek Porel, and when the ploy didn’t work, they brought in Karun Nair, who excelled at the position.

While that could be the only glitch in their otherwise brilliant run of five wins from seven matches so far in IPL 2025, the Capitals would hope that the openers get going against a potent Lucknow bowling attack led by Shardul Thakur and Avesh Khan, along side the spinning duo of Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi.

Delhi’s middle order looks a far assured unit with KL Rahul in fine touch, and the skipper Axar Patel providing the quick fire cameos to set the tone for the likes of Abishek, Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam to provide the late flourish to their totals.

In contrast, the LSG has been best served by their top order so far, with Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh proving a successful pair, while Nicholas Pooran has been in top form so far in the season. Skipper Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t had the best of seasons as a batter so far, with 106 runs from eight games and 63 of those coming in a single match, will be expected to dominate his former side’s bowling.

However, against a Delhi’s well-oiled bowling unit, comprising Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Vipraj Nigam, Mukesh Kumar and Axar, it’s easier said than done.

LSG will, however, take a lot of positives from their previous win against Rajasthan Royals, in which Avesh Khan’s excellent bowling effort in the death helped the side coast to a narrow 2-run victory, and against the Capitals, the team management would expect the side to continue the momentum.

DC on their part, have a psychological edge in the reverse fixture after Ashutosh Sharma’s brilliance in the closing stages of the season’s earlier match helped them snatch victory from the jaws of defeat while chasing down a 210-run target with one wicket and three balls to spare.

Squads:

Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (wk/captain), Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, David Miller, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Matthew Breetzke, Himmat Singh, Shamar Joseph, Manimaran Siddharth, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Yadav, Arshin Kulkarni.

Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Sameer Rizvi, Darshan Nalkande, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurana Vijay, Dushmantha Chameera, Faf du Plessis, T Natarajan, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Manvanth Kumar L, Madhav Tiwari.