IPL 2026: Lungi Ngidi comes back as DC opt to bat first vs CSK – check full playing XI

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss on Tuesday and elected to bat first against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their IPL match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

In a big boost for DC Bowling, South African pacer Lungi Ngidi returned to the team after missing a few matches due to a head injury he suffered during a home match against Punjab Kings on April 25.

On the other hand, CSK brought in Akeal Hosein and Gurjapneet Singh to revamp their combination due to Ramakrishna Ghosh’s injury.

“We’ll bat first. I think the surface looks good and we think it’s a very good pitch. Maybe in the second innings it might slow down a bit, so I’d like to give that edge to our bowlers. The way the tournament is going, it’s a very important match. But at the same time, it’s more important to concentrate on how you bowl. You can’t think too much about runs – if you do, you put extra pressure on yourself. It’s what we did. “Talking as a team, we just want to play good cricket, and the points will sort themselves out. We lost some close games, but if you look at the season as a whole, I’m happy with the wins and the performances. That’s what happens sometimes, but if we talk about cricket I’m very happy with the boys’ batting and bowling, if we had done better we could have been in a stronger position. “Axar Patel said at the toss.

While CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad said, “We were looking to bowl first, but the pitch is looking a bit dry, so I don’t think that will change much. So batting or bowling first won’t make much difference. (On team mood) There have been some positive signs in the last 2-3 matches. Even though we haven’t won all the matches, there are some good positives. From the first three matches in the tournament, we have improved a lot in all departments. Our bowling is doing well. We just want to continue this momentum in the last phase of the tournament. We are really happy to go into this match, especially after the last one, so we want to start from scratch and start well.

Teams:

Super Kings of Chennai (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (w), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh

Delhi Capitals (Game XI): KL Rahul (w), Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan