Performance Against DC Is The Start Of Shami's Road To Redemption : Pujara

Delhi Capitals clinched a six-wicket victory against the Lucknow Super Giants in TATA IPL 2026, riding on Sameer Rizvi’s unbeaten half-century after coming in as an impact player. Speaking on Star Sports’ ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar experts Cheteshwar Pujara and Piyush Chawla discussed Rizvi’s clutch performance, Kuldeep Yadav’s transformation, and Lungi Ngidi continuing from where he left off in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

Speaking on Star Sports' 'Amul Cricket Live', JioStar expert Cheteshwar Pujara praised DC's move to bring in Sameer Rizvi as the impact player:

"Bringing Sameer Rizvi as the impact substitute ahead of Ashutosh Sharma was a good move given the demands of the situation. DC had lost four wickets in the first five overs and needed someone to anchor the innings. The team management backed Rizvi and it paid off. He held one end while Stubbs secured the other and their partnership was crucial. Batting wasn't easy as LSG bowlers got plenty of help under lights, which is why they picked four early wickets. They bowled well under pressure, but the Stubbs-Rizvi pair took the game away. Rizvi's knock of 70 runs helped him prove his worth to the DC team management and I want Delhi to back him in upcoming games. He deserves to play in more games after this clutch knock. Whether he starts in the Playing XI or comes in as impact player remains to be seen, but I'd pick him over Ashutosh Sharma and Karun Nair."

On how Kuldeep Yadav's increased confidence has transformed his bowling:

"Confidence plays a very important role in a bowler's performance. The way Kuldeep Yadav has bowled in the last two years is because of his confidence. He is bowling without any fear. There was a time when he didn't have much faith in his bowling, but those days are gone. When a bowler's confidence increases, he starts picking up wickets and the hunger to do well increases. In Kuldeep's case, even if he gets hit for a six, he does not shy away from giving flight to the ball and bowling in the hitting zones to tempt the batter to play a rash stroke and get him out. Kuldeep's confidence has improved a lot since joining DC. With confidence, his skill execution has seen an improvement too and that was quite evident in the encounter against LSG."

On Mohammed Shami's impactful start to TATA IPL 2026:

"This season of the IPL is very important for Mohammed Shami and the way he started off the tournament with this performance against DC shows he means business. Yes, his figures read 1 for 28, but it was Shami who played a crucial role in helping his side get off to a strong start in the powerplay. He first got rid of KL Rahul on the very first ball of the run chase and full credit to Shami. He knew that Rahul loves to play the inside out shot, so he bowled a wide delivery. Rahul played the inside out shot but it went straight into the hands of the deep point fielder. Then, he restricted the run flow by bowling tight lines and did not allow the batters to score runs. Shami has been playing domestic cricket across all formats in the last one year and the performances have been good. He is translating his domestic form into the IPL. This performance against Delhi is just the beginning of Mohammed Shami's road to redemption."

Speaking on Star Sports' 'Amul Cricket Live', JioStar expert Piyush Chawla broke down how Lungi Ngidi executed the perfect slower yorker to dismiss Nicholas Pooran:

"The delivery bowled by Lungi Ngidi to get rid of Nicholas Pooran was a peach. A well-planned dismissal. As we saw last year, many bowlers bowled round the wicket to Pooran and he got dismissed five times that way. In this match between LSG and DC, the plan was similar. Ngidi came round the wicket and bowled a perfect slower yorker to get rid of Pooran. One of the best deliveries I have seen in IPL history. Pure class from the South African pacer. He came into the IPL in good form, having done well for South Africa in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Even there, he got wickets with his slower balls. Ngidi was not that good with the slower deliveries before, but he has worked a lot on it and has mastered the art of bowling inch-perfect slower ones. The slower balls he bowls now dip a bit, which makes it difficult for the batter to judge. That is why Lungi Ngidi has found so much success."

On the turning point in the match between LSG and DC:

"For me, the dismissal of Rishabh Pant in the powerplay was the turning point of the game for Delhi. It is very important for opening batters to get their side off to an aggressive start. The new look opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant was looking good. They added 19 runs for the opening wicket. Marsh was busy terrorizing the bowlers with his strokes while Pant was batting with caution. But when Pant got out, that proved to be the turning point. After his dismissal, the others were not able to do well and the pressure came on Marsh. So credit to Mukesh Kumar for maintaining his composure during that over and getting his hand in contact with the ball to get Pant run out. Rishabh Pant will want to forget this dismissal."