Eight of the ten franchises have already commenced their campaign in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. While some teams suffered a blow in their maiden match of the season, the remaining ones got a winning start, but the Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) are scheduled to lock horns tonight at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Both teams will look to bring their best game after failing to qualify for the playoffs last season. With some match-winners already in their respective ranks, a few uncapped as well as star players who have been consistent of late in the shortest format are also set to feature in the XI as they look to take their respective sides over the finish line. Here in this article, we have listed three players who could be match-winners in the LSG vs DC match.
3 unknown players who could be match-winners in LSG vs DC
Himmat Singh
A Delhi-based cricketer, who bats right-handed and also brings his occasional right-arm off-spin bowling, Himmat Singh made his IPL debut in 2025 with LSG. Although he walked as a replacement majorly in the last season, with the franchise locking him in for the 2026 season, it proves his talent. Although Singh has only played 3 matches so far and is yet to get some runs under his name, he could be key this season, especially seeing his first-class record.
Mukul Choudhary
Mukul is a 21-year-old wicket-keeper batter from Rajasthan, who has started to make a name for himself in domestic circles, as a power-hitter. This year in SMAT, he went on to score 210 runs in only 7 matches, where his strike-rate was 165, and went on to score a couple of fifties as well.
Pathum Nissanka
Sri Lanka’s dependable top-order batter, Pathum Nissanka, has quietly built a strong case for himself, thanks to his consistency in the 2025–26 T20 cycle. Nissanka, who had a solid ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, where he accumulated over 211 runs at an average above 35. The Lanka batter’s strength lies in timing, placement, and strike rotation, a feature unlike other aggressive openers. Moreover, his ability to adapt to spin-friendly conditions could be valuable in the IPL, especially in the Delhi Capitals (DC) lineup, who have seen a slight struggle for the same.
IPL 2026: LSG vs DC squads
LSG: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Aiden Markram, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Mukul Choudhary, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Josh Inglis, Nicholas Pooran, Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahamad, Arshin Kulkarni, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ayush Badoni, Mohammad Shami, Avesh Khan, M. Siddharth, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Akash Singh, Prince Yadav, Arjun Tendulkar, Anrich Nortje, Naman Tiwari, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan.
DC: KL Rahul, Karun Nair, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Pathum Nissanka, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (Captain), Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav.
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