02 April,2026 06:21 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Mohammed Shami (Pic: X/@LucknowIPL)
In the IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals (DC), Lucknow Super Giants (SLG) suffered a loss by six wickets at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.
Batting first in the match, LSG was bowled out for 141 runs. Later, in the second essay of the game, while defending the target of 142 runs, Lucknow's star pacer Mohammed Shami dismissed DC's KL Rahul on the very first ball.
The pacer also returned with the figures of one wicket for 28 runs in four overs.
Speaking about his performance, former Team India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara said that the ongoing edition is important for Shami.
"This season of the IPL is very important for Mohammed Shami and the way he started off the tournament with this performance against DC shows he means business. Yes, his figures read 1 for 28, but it was Shami who played a crucial role in helping his side get off to a strong start in the powerplay. He first got rid of KL Rahul on the very first ball of the run chase and full credit to Shami," he said.
The former cricketer then explained how the pacer employed his technique to get rid of Rahul early in the match.
"He knew that Rahul loves to play the inside out shot, so he bowled a wide delivery. Rahul played the inside out shot but it went straight into the hands of the deep point fielder. Then, he restricted the run flow by bowling tight lines and did not allow the batters to score runs," said Pujara.
Considering all his performances in domestic cricket, Pujara stated that this is just the beginning of Shami's redemption arc.
"Shami has been playing domestic cricket across all formats in the last one year and the performances have been good. He is translating his domestic form into the IPL. This performance against Delhi is just the beginning of Mohammed Shami's road to redemption," he said.
On the back of one loss, LSG will gear up to face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 5 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmar Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Moshin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi.
(With PTI Inputs)
