Last year’s dark blue and orange have made way for navy blue and red as the Super Giants hope that a change in jersey colours, along with a new logo, will help them turn over a new leaf. However, with a largely intact batting core and an injury-prone seam attack, helmed by the out-of-favour veteran Mohammed Shami, will it be a case of “The more things change, the more they stay the same?”
Skipper Rishabh Pant, who has been sidelined from India’s white-ball teams, will have a point to prove, both as a leader and player. He capped off his underwhelming IPL season last year with a scintillating unbeaten 118 at No. 3, a position he slotted in at only once earlier in the campaign. The wicketkeeper-batter’s spot in a power-packed top four, comprising Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran, will be crucial.
Pant’s former team, Delhi Capitals (DC), doesn’t enjoy the same abundance at the top of the batting tree. It tried seven different opening combinations last year and ended the season with the lowest first-wicket average (21.78). The addition of Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka, along with KL Rahul, could address that concern. On the bowling front, Mitchell Starc’s absence could be ridden out by Jammu and Kashmir pace sensation Auqib Nabi.
The restrictive duo of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav will have its task cut out at a traditionally spin-friendly venue that has increasingly become challenging for the slower bowlers. Add spin-basher Pooran to the mix, and their duel could be match-defining.
LSG and DC began their respective campaigns last year with this very fixture, with the latter squeezing out a tense one-wicket win in a 210-run chase.
Both teams eventually frittered away promising starts and fell short of a Playoffs berth. They will hope history doesn’t repeat as they begin another pursuit of a maiden title.
Published on Mar 31, 2026
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