DC vs LSG Match Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2025 match?
The Indian Premier League (IPL) scheduling committee loves a few storylines to start the tournament. After witnessing the defending champions fall at home and the league's first El Clasico of 2025, the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will face off in Match 4 in Vizag.
This might not seem like a particularly interesting encounter for those who aren't fans of these two teams, but a lot is riding on it. Rishabh Pant chose to enter the IPL auction and made his way to LSG, breaking a career-long alliance with DC that started just after his U19 days. Meanwhile, KL Rahul had a public disagreement with Lucknow owner Sanjiv Goenka, consequently finding himself at the Capitals.
Interestingly, Rahul won't captain Delhi, with reports suggesting that he rejected the opportunity to do so. Axar Patel, who has become a fan favorite at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, will have that responsibility. Pant will have the reins at the Super Giants, but not the bowling personnel, with most of his team's fast bowlers struggling to brush aside their persistent injuries.
While Mohsin Khan has already been ruled out and been replaced by Shardul Thakur, Mayank Yadav, Akash Deep and Avesh Khan won't be available for LSG's clash against DC. Rahul, on the other hand, has joined the camp but might not be part of the XI for the first two matches due to personal reasons.
Nevertheless, both teams will want to make a winning start to the league. Which team can do so?
DC's squad for IPL 2025: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs, Faf du Plessis, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Abishek Porel, Donovan Ferreira, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Darshan Nalkande, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohit Sharma, Dushmantha Chameera.
LSG's squad for IPL 2025: Aiden Markram, David Miller, Ayush Badoni, Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant, Nicholas Pooran, Aryan Juyal, Abdul Samad, Mitchell Marsh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ravi Bishnoi, M Siddharth, Digvesh Singh, Mayank Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Akash Deep, Avesh Khan, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav.
IPL 2025: Storylines clash in Vizag as DC and LSG embark on new journeys
On paper, LSG's team doesn't inspire any confidence. There are serious concerns over the bowling department and the top order, with the Super Giants messing up the IPL 2025 auction in pointed ways.
Without their first-choice bowling attack, Lucknow will be overly reliant on Ravi Bishnoi and potentially Shamar Joseph to lead the spin and pace units respectively. DC have power from start to finish in their lineup, and they'll be licking their lips at facing up against the inexperienced LSG bowlers.
Delhi are fairly well-rounded, with enough in all departments. Rahul's potential absence will make things a bit tough for the middle order, but otherwise, they have more bases covered.
It remains to be seen how the pitch in Vizag plays, and one that brings the bowlers into the game could bode well for LSG, who have match-winners like Nicholas Pooran, David Miller and Pant himself in their lineup. However, a fairly flat surface is on the cards, and DC love playing on wickets that allow them to hit through the line.
It's hard to say how the teams will fare so early in the tournament, with form and combinations being relative unknowns. That said, however, LSG are likely to enter most matches of this tournament as the underdogs as things currently stand.
Prediction: DC to win Match 4 of IPL 2025.