3 player battles to watch out for in DC vs LSG, Match 4 of IPL 2025 ft. Rishabh Pant

Delhi Capitals (DC) will face off against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 on Monday, March 24. The contest will take place at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Former captain of LSG, KL Rahul, was roped in by DC for ₹14 crore and is set to represent a new franchise. On the other hand, former DC captain Rishabh Pant was bagged by LSG for a whopping INR 27 crore and is set to lead the team this year.

With the two sides all set for their campaign opener, here are three player battles to watch out for during the match-up.

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#3 T Natarajan vs David Miller

It will be a battle worth watching when Delhi Capitals’ T Natarajan bowls against LSG’s power-hitter David Miller in the death overs. While the former is known for his crunch spells in the death, the latter is famous for his powerful hitting in the final overs.

Natarajan has dismissed Miller once in two innings, while the latter has scored just seven runs against the former off as many deliveries in these games.

With the duo holding the tag of ‘specialists’ for their respective franchises, it’ll be interesting to see who gets the upper hand.

#2 Faf du Plessis vs Shardul Thakur

Two former IPL teammates will go head-to-head against each other. While Faf du Plessis will now represent the Capitals, Shardul Thakur replaced Mohsin Khan in the Lucknow squad at the onset of IPL 2025.

Named the vice-captain of the side, Du Plessis has confirmed his place in the playing XI, and Shardul Thakur’s experience of playing the format has also given him the edge.

The two spent several years in the same camp before Du Plessis joined RCB in 2022. Shardul, too, was released from the CSK squad before 2022 and represented Delhi and Kolkata in 2022 and 2023, respectively, before rejoining CSK in 2024.

#1 Rishabh Pant vs Kuldeep Yadav

Like Faf and Shardul, Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav are another set of former teammates who will clash on Monday. Pant had been associated with DC for years before he opted to go under the hammer ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.

Kuldeep Yadav was retained by DC ahead of the auction and will now bowl against Pant, aiming to get his former skipper’s wicket.

The spinner usually bowls in the middle overs, and with the wicketkeeper-batter being a middle-order specialist, there are high chances of Kuldeep bowling to Pant when DC and LSG go head-to-head. It’ll be interesting to see who gets the upper hand in this contest.