Sameer Rizvi showed his style with a composed unbeaten 70 to lead Delhi Capitals to a comfortable six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in Match 5 of IPL 2026. Under pressure from Delhi for 26 for 4, Rizvi showed maturity beyond his years in a modest chase of 142 runs. He combined with Tristan Stubbs to put up an unbeaten partnership of 119 that completely turned the game on its head, sealing the victory in just 17.1 overs.Staying calm under pressure: Rizvi’s maturity shines throughRizvi revealed after the game that role clarity and support from the team management played a key role in his performance.“The coaches are rooting for me to finish fourth this season. I just try to play according to the situation,” he said.Rizvi initially hoped to play a positive role but had to quickly reassess after Delhi lost consecutive wickets.“But when two wickets fell in the next game, the situation completely changed. So I tried to talk to Stubbs. He said, let’s take some time. There are many overs left and the run-rate has also come down. We should respect the conditions, so we discussed and decided to play our game. Not only after reaching fifty, I also tried to pick up the loose deliveries and that was my plan throughout the innings,” Rizvi concluded.
Game-changing collaboration
Rizvi-Stubbs’ 119* stand not only saved Delhi from collapse but also etched itself in the history of the IPL. This is the second-highest partnership after 4 runs below 30 points, after the 134* between KKR’s Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan in 2016.This also became Delhi Capitals’ highest partnership for the fifth wicket or below, surpassing the previous 111*. Stubbs played a perfect supporting role with an unbeaten 39 to ensure no further damage was done, while Rizvi gradually changed direction.Tristan Stubbs reflects on his partnership with Sameer Rizvi, “Yeah, we’ve been saying, keep batting normally, keep looking to score runs. “I think Sameer plays naturally against spin, accepts it, so that makes my job a little easier. Just mess it up and let him strike. We always knew the game was over and then it was just about running the ball and taking away the game, the shots you need to make and yeah, luckily we did that. We said at the beginning of the game, let’s see if it spins. I think the first three balls were probably around 12 balls. “
Axar backs bowlers and young talents
Delhi captain Axar Patel attributed the win to the bowlers and winning partnership.“The new ball did some good. We told our bowlers to take advantage of that and they did really well. The key was to build a big partnership in the chase and Rizvi and Stubbs executed that perfectly.”Axar also highlighted the team’s strategy during the break between innings.“During the strategic pause, our message was clear that we are only one partner away from taking control of the situation and the plan is to bring in Rizvi as early as possible. He has performed well in training and it is great to see him perform well,” Al-Aqsa added.
