Pant, who had backed up too far, was caught well short of his crease with no chance of recovery. Visibly disappointed, he walked off without waiting for the third umpire’s confirmation after scoring 7 off 9 balls.Watch:Pant’s early dismissal dealt a blow to LSG’s strategy, as the team had opted to promote him to the top in a bold tactical move. The wicket also validated Delhi’s decision to bowl first after Axar Patel won the toss, expecting assistance from the fresh surface.Earlier, Axar explained the call, citing potential help for bowlers in the powerplay despite data favouring teams batting first. Delhi fielded a balanced XI featuring the likes of KL Rahul, David Miller and Kuldeep Yadav, while LSG relied on a strong overseas core including Marsh, Nicholas Pooran and Anrich Nortje.Adding to the talking points, Arjun Tendulkar remained absent from both the playing XI and the bench despite being part of LSG’s squad this season.With Pant’s gamble backfiring early, the contest quickly tilted in Delhi’s favour in the opening exchanges.

LSG vs DC Playing XI

Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Mohsin Khan, Mohammed Shami, Anrich Nortje, Prince YadavLucknow Super Giants Impact subs: Digvesh Rathi, Avesh Khan, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akshat RaghuvanshiDelhi Capitals (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Lungi Ngidi,Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh KumarDelhi Capitals Impact subs: Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair