Delhi Capitals pacer Lungi Ngidi has produced a potential ball of the tournament by clean bowling explosive West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran.
The South
African dismissed Pooran with a beautifully disguised slower delivery during the 5th match of IPL 2026 against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first. Lucknow Super Giants have deployed a strong top order featuring Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram (or opening adjustments with Rishabh Pant), and Nicholas Pooran, but DC's pace attack has struck decisive blows in the middle overs.
LSG vs DC: Ngidi bamboozles Pooran
Ngidi came around the wicket in the 9th over and delivered a full-length slower ball at just 112.3 kph. The ball has shaped slightly in the air while dipping late, completely foxing Pooran, who was dismissed at 8 off 8 balls.
Pooran, expecting pace, attempted a flick in front of his body, but was early into the shot. His bat met thin air as the ball sneaked through the gate, rattling the stumps.
Through the defence 😯
- IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2026
🎥 Lungi Ngidi foxes Nicholas Pooran with his brilliance 🔥
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/lfP7dRNKfg#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #LSGvDC | @DelhiCapitals pic.twitter.com/7RQyWsBUhA
Ngidi's variation - honed during international cricket and the recent T20 World Cup - has turned what could have been a scoring opportunity into a match-defining moment.
At the time of the dismissal, LSG had been reeling at 65/4 in 8.5 overs. Ngidi nearly claimed another wicket soon after with a similar dipping slower ball. At the time of publishing, they are 138/7 in the 18th over.
Lucknow Struggle in IPL 2026 Opener
After losing the toss and batting, the LSG side have so far failed to find any momentum in their batting. The early wicket of Rishabh Pant was a big blow, while the likes of Aiden Markram, Ayush Badoni also failed to produce anything significant with the bat. Mitchell Marsh scored a battling 35 off 28, and Abdul Samad also played a decent knock of 36 runs.
