Sameer Rizvi announced himself in Match 5 of IPL 2026 with a composed and match-winning unbeaten 70 to give Delhi Capitals a comfortable six-wicket victory over Lucknow Supergiants. Running under pressure with Delhi reeling at 26 for 4 in a paltry chase of 142, Rizvi showed maturity beyond his years. Along with Tristan Stubbs, he put together an unbeaten partnership of 119 runs that turned the game completely on its head and sealed the chase in just 17.1 overs.Calm under pressure: Rizvi’s maturity shines through.Rizvi revealed after the match that the role clarity and support from the team management played a key role in his performance.“The coaches favored me to bat at number four this season. I just tried to play according to the situation,” he said.Initially looking to play positively, Rizvi had to quickly reassess after Delhi lost wickets in a cluster.‘But as soon as two wickets fell in the next over, the situation changed completely. So I tried to talk to Stubbs. He said let’s take some time. There are still enough overs left and the run rate is also down. We have to respect the situation, so we talked and decided that we will play our game. “Not just after reaching fifty, but I tried to remove loose deliveries and that was my plan throughout the innings,” concluded Rizvi.
A partnership that changed the game.
Rizvi Stubbs’ stand of 119* not only saved Delhi from disaster but also cemented itself in IPL history. This is the second highest partnership for a team to be dismissed for less than 30 runs, behind only the 134* stand between Yusuf Pathan and Shakib Al Hasan for KKR in 2016.It also became Delhi Capitals’ highest partnership for a fifth wicket or less, surpassing the previous best of 111*. Stubbs played the perfect supporting role with an unbeaten 39, ensuring no further damage was done while Rizvi gradually shifted gears.Tristan Stubbs reflected on his partnership with Sameer Rizvi, saying, “Yeah, we kept saying, keep batting normally, keep looking at the score. I think the way Samir naturally plays just against spin, he takes it forward, so it made my job a little bit easier. Just knock it around, take it on strike. And we always knew it was an over, and then it was down to run a ball, and then take the game away, the shots you needed, and yeah, luckily we got them there. We said at the start of the over, let’s see if it spins. And I think the first three balls were like 12 or something. “
Axar supports bowlers and young talent.
Delhi captain Axar Patel credited the win to the two bowlers and the match-winning partnership.“The new ball was working a bit. We asked our bowlers to take advantage of that, and they did really well. The key was building a big partnership in the chase, and Rizvi and Stubbs did it perfectly.”Axar also shed light on the team’s strategy during the innings break.“During the strategic time-out, the message was clear, we were just one partnership away from taking control, the plan was to bring Rizvi on early. He has been excellent in practice, and it was great to see him deliver.” Axar added.
