New Delhi [India], April 2 (ANI): Former India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has called Rishabh Pant's dismissal in the powerplay as the key turning point in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on Wednesday.

JioStar expert Piyush Chawla said Lucknow openers Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant started strongly, but Pant's run out, following a brilliant effort by Mukesh Kumar, shifted momentum in favour of Delhi Capitals.

'For me, the dismissal of Rishabh Pant in the power play was the turning point of the game for Delhi. It is very important for opening batters to get their side off to an aggressive start. The new-look opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Rishabh Pant was looking good. They added 19 runs for the opening wicket. Marsh was busy terrorising the bowlers with his strokes while Pant was batting with caution. But when Pant got out, that proved to be the turning point. After his dismissal, the others were not able to do well, and the pressure came on Marsh,' Chawla said.

The former Indian cricketer further credited Mukesh Kumar for his composure, highlighting his role in Pant's runout. 'So credit to Mukesh Kumar for maintaining his composure during that over and getting his hand in contact with the ball to get Pant run out. Rishabh Pant will want to forget this dismissal,' Chawla added.

DC started the 2026 IPL season with a thumping six-wicket win over LSG at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday.

Sameer Rizvi played an unbeaten knock of 70 runs off just 47 balls, which helped his side chase down a challenging target of 142 runs with six wickets and 17 balls to spare. (ANI)