Delhi's thrilling victory.

Delhi Capitals made a thrilling start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday, defeating Lucknow Super Giants by 1 wicket.

Ashutosh Sharma was the hero in Delhi's thrilling win. Chasing a target of 210, Delhi reached the total in 19.3 overs, losing 9 wickets along the way. Delhi's start was disastrous, losing 3 key wickets for just 7 runs.

Opener Jack Fraser was out for 1, Abhishek Porel was dismissed without scoring, and Samir Rizvi was out for 4 runs. Soon after, captain Axar Patel was also dismissed for 22 runs. By the end of the powerplay, Delhi had lost 4 wickets, managing only 58 runs.

With the team under pressure, Faf du Plessis (29) and Tristan Stubbs (34) were also dismissed, bringing Delhi closer to defeat. However, Ashutosh and Vipraj Nigam revived the chase with a 55-run partnership for the seventh wicket, the largest partnership for Delhi in the innings.

Vipraj scored 39 off 15 balls before being dismissed, but Ashutosh stayed solid at the crease, playing a brilliant knock to lead Delhi to victory.

The 19th over was a turning point. On the third ball, Prince Yadav dismissed Kuldeep Yadav. On the fourth ball, Ashutosh struck a couple of runs to reach his half-century. He then hit a six on the fifth ball and a four on the sixth ball of the same over.

With just 6 runs needed off the final 6 balls, Mohit Sharma added 1 run on the second ball, giving Ashutosh the strike to finish the match.

On the third ball, Ashutosh Sharma hit a six off bowler Shabaz Ahmed, leaving him helpless. With that, Delhi won the match by 1 wicket with 3 balls to spare. Ashutosh remained unbeaten on 66 runs off 31 balls, hitting 5 fours and 5 sixes.

In the bowling department, Lucknow's Shardul Thakur, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvijay Rath, and Ravi Bishnoi each took 2 wickets.

Earlier, after losing the toss and being invited to bowl first, Lucknow posted a total of 209/8 in their 20 overs.

Opener Aiden Markram was dismissed for 15 runs. Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran then provided explosive batting. During the first powerplay, Lucknow scored 64 runs while losing just 1 wicket. In just 49 balls, they had already put up a solid start, scoring 100 runs.

Mitchell Marsh reached his half-century off 21 balls, hitting 5 fours and 6 sixes. Nicholas Pooran also achieved his half-century in 24 balls.

The pair put together an 87-run partnership for the second wicket. Mitchell Marsh scored 72 off 36 balls before being dismissed by Mukesh Kumar. Captain Rishabh Pant failed to open his account.

Pooran, facing 30 balls, scored 75 runs, including 6 fours and 7 sixes, before being dismissed. Debutant Miller remained unbeaten on 27 runs.

For Delhi, Mitchell Starc was the top bowler, taking 3 wickets for 42 runs in his 4 overs. Kuldeep Yadav claimed 2 wickets, while Vipraj Nigam and Mukesh Kumar took 1 wicket each. With this win, Delhi started their campaign with 2 valuable points.