New Delhi [India], April 2 : Delhi Capitals (DC) clinched a six-wicket victory against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Wednesday to start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign with a thumping win, but what stood out for Cheteshwar Pujara was the eye-catching performance of Mohammed Shami, who made his debut for the LSG.
Pujara believes that Shami's 'road to redemption' is not far, and he is converting his domestic performances into the IPL.
Speaking on Star Sports, the former India cricketer said, "Shami has been playing domestic cricket across all formats in the last year, and the performances have been good. He is translating his domestic form into the IPL. This performance against Delhi is just the beginning of Mohammed Shami's road to redemption."
Asked to bat first, LSG were bowled out for 141 thanks to the seamers Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan's three wickets apiece. Riding on Sameer Rizvi's unbeaten 70 runs, DC chased down the target comfortably and started their campaign with an easy two points.
While defending the target, Shami got a wicket on the very first delivery of Delhi Capitals' innings when he got rid of opener batter KL Rahul with a catch by Mohsin Khan at the deep point.
"He first got rid of KL Rahul on the very first ball of the run chase, and full credit to Shami. He knew that Rahul loves to play the inside-out shot, so he bowled a wide delivery. Rahul played the inside-out shot, but it went straight into the hands of the deep point fielder. Then, he restricted the run flow by bowling tight lines and did not allow the batters to score runs," Pujara said.
The 35-year-old Shami was the standout performer for the Gujarat Titans, where the GT won the title and finished as runner-ups in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively. He missed the 2024 season due to injury and played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2025 season. This year, he is representing LSG and has started well for the franchise.
Talking about Shami's impactful start to the IPL 2026, he said, "This season of the IPL is very important for Mohammed Shami, and the way he started off the tournament with this performance against DC shows he means business. Yes, his figures read 1 for 28, but it was Shami who played a crucial role in helping his side get off to a strong start in the powerplay."