Lucknow: The Lucknow Super Giants faced continued difficulties at home as the Delhi Capitals secured an emphatic eight-wicket victory at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday. Despite a promising start, LSG could only post a total of 159/6, struggling to find boundaries. They reached 87/0 at the halfway point but managed to score just 72 runs in the final 10 overs. The pitch appeared to favor the batting side when the Delhi Capitals took to the crease, allowing them to achieve victory in a mere 17.5 overs, losing only Karun Nair and Abhishek Porel as wickets.

Nair contributed 15 runs with two boundaries and a six, while Porel recorded his first half-century of the season, scoring a commendable 51 off 36 balls, including five boundaries and a six. Subsequently, LSG's former captain KL Rahul showcased his batting prowess with an unbeaten 57 runs off 42 balls, featuring three fours and three sixes, marking his third half-century of the season. He concluded the match in style with a six off Prince Yadav, also becoming the fastest player to reach 5000 IPL runs. The unbroken partnership of 56 runs for the third wicket with captain Axar Patel, who scored 34 off 20 balls, allowed Delhi to finish the game comfortably.

Earlier, pacer Mukesh Kumar spearheaded a remarkable comeback for the Delhi Capitals with impressive figures of 4/33. LSG commenced their innings with right-handed openers Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh at the crease. However, Axar took the new ball himself and proved his decision correct, conceding only three runs and nearly having Marsh dismissed on the last ball of the over. Marsh took time to settle in, while Markram quickly found his rhythm, leading LSG to 51/0 after the Powerplay. Although it was a modest score, no wickets had fallen, establishing a foundation for the subsequent batters.

Markram scored 24 runs off the first 14 balls he faced, indicating his growing comfort with Indian conditions, which is a significant advantage for LSG, though the other batters must also rise to the occasion. He was the first to be dismissed as Tristan Stubbs caught him out.

This marked the beginning of LSG's troubles. Shortly thereafter, left-handed batsman Nicholas Pooran was dismissed by Mitchell Starc after scoring a mere nine runs, marking the fifth occasion Starc has taken Pooran's wicket in a T20 match. The true turmoil was yet to unfold, commencing in the 14th over when Mukesh delivered significant blows to LSG by claiming the wickets of Abdul Samad and Marsh within a single over. The decision to bat Samad at No. 4 proved ineffective for LSG, as he offered a return catch to the bowler after managing only nine runs.

Mukesh then bowled a yorker to dismiss Marsh (45 runs off 36 balls, including 3 fours and 1 six), leaving LSG in a precarious position at 110/4 after 14 overs. In an attempt to counter Mukesh's double strike, LSG introduced Ayush Badoni as an Impact Player. Badoni could have been dismissed for three runs by Mukesh in the following over had Stubbs not dropped a catch at sweeper cover. Badoni's quickfire 36 runs off 21 balls, featuring six boundaries, including three consecutive fours in the final over of the innings, enabled LSG to surpass the 150-run threshold.

David Miller remained not out at 14 runs. Captain Rishabh Pant, who entered the game at No. 7, was dismissed for a two-ball duck, appearing visibly frustrated, and his ongoing poor performance is compounding LSG's difficulties. Consequently, following this defeat, LSG has fallen to fifth place in the points table, with their net run-rate now in the negative. Meanwhile, Delhi is tied with Gujarat Titans at the top, each with 12 points.

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