In the history of the IPL, whenever a player faces their former team, the match tends to be very interesting. Today's match will be just as thrilling. This is because former captain of Lucknow Super Giants, KL Rahul, will be playing for Delhi Capitals this time. Also, Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Delhi for the highest bid ever, will be playing against Delhi today.

The match in Visakhapatnam will definitely be interesting, as it is also Delhi's second home ground.

After Lucknow was eliminated from the 2024 IPL, there was a public dispute between KL Rahul and the team's owner, Sanjeev Goenka. As a result, this match will be a clash of egos for KL Rahul.

It is uncertain whether KL Rahul will play in this match or not, as news has come out that he might miss the game due to personal reasons. However, even if he plays, he won't be in the captain's role. After Rishabh Pant moved to Lucknow, Delhi's captaincy rests with Axar Patel. Pant himself is the captain of Lucknow.

Last year, when his cricket career was in jeopardy, Pant made his comeback from this very ground. But this match will not just be a competition between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.

This game is a battle between two teams that are struggling to make their mark in the IPL. Delhi has made major changes in both the team and the support staff for this season.

On the other hand, Lucknow is competing without some key Indian bowlers. The team might also face the challenge of injuries. Mohammad Shami, who had an ACL injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, will definitely not play.

Delhi, in forming their team, has focused on bowling. Players like Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, and T. Natarajan will be part of the Delhi team. However, players like Mukesh Kumar, captain Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav are still performing well.

Hence, this competition might be a contest between Lucknow's batsmen and Delhi's bowlers.

Pant has played 111 matches in his IPL career so far. Starting his IPL career in 2016, Pant has only played for Delhi so far.

KL Rahul, who took Lucknow to the playoffs, will be looking for an opportunity to respond with the bat, just as he did when he helped India win the Champions Trophy.

Mitchell Marsh had an excellent performance for Delhi in the 2022 season, scoring 251 runs. In the 2023 season, he took 12 wickets. However, this time he will be playing for Lucknow. But due to injury, he hasn't been able to bowl.

Rishabh Pant will be coming in as an opener.

Lucknow, which bought Rishabh Pant for 27 crores at the auction, has high expectations from him. The data from previous games also indicates that Pant will be opening, as Nicholas Pooran and David Miller can play aggressively in the lower order.

Pant has a strike rate of over 154 against spin bowlers, while Miller's strike rate is above 135, which is nearly 10 runs more than Pant's.

This time, Axar Patel will be in the spotlight for Delhi, as it will be his first time as a full-time IPL captain. He is one of the four players retained by Delhi, and has made significant contributions to help win the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.

Another player in the spotlight will be Shardul Thakur. Initially, no team bid for him, but after his outstanding all-round performances in domestic cricket, Lucknow brought him into the team. If he performs well here, the door to the national team could open for him, so his performance will be worth watching.

Next three matches:

Delhi will spend a long time in Visakhapatnam. They will play Sunrisers Hyderabad here on March 30, followed by a match against Chennai Super Kings.

After facing Delhi, Lucknow will head to Hyderabad. After competing with Sunrisers on March 27, they will face Punjab at their home ground.