Hemang Badani made a last-minute tweak to send Tristan Stubbs ahead of David Miller.© X (Twitter)
Sameer Rizvi slammed his second Indian Premier League (IPL) half-century to help Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by six wickets on Thursday. Rizvi stitched together an unbeaten 119-run stand with Tristan Stubbs, who played second fiddle with a steady 39 not out off 32 balls. Surprisingly, David Miller was initially slotted to bat ahead of Stubbs, but a last-minute change saw the latter join Rizvi in the middle following the dismissal of captain Axar Patel in the fifth over.
A viral video caught DC coach Hemang Badani‘s last-minute tactical tweak. In the footage, Miller was getting ready to head out to the middle before Badani sprinted from the dressing room to the dugout, instructing Stubbs to go in ahead of the southpaw.
The moment when Hemang Badani made a bold decision in yesterday’s match and changed the fortune of DC, and also the brilliance from Rizvi and Stubbs.pic.twitter.com/u08vJNxy4Z
— Tapish (@crictapish) April 2, 2026
While Stubbs struggled for rhythm throughout his innings, he anchored one end effectively, providing Rizvi the platform to play his natural, aggressive game at Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Speaking after the match, Stubbs revealed that he wasn’t fully ready when Badani came to the dugout with the call to promote him ahead of Miller.
“I wasn’t fully padded up, had to go straight in. Was simple what we needed, bat time and build a partnership. Rizvi was brilliant. You’re always looking to score but the situation tells you what to do. It was doing a bit, swung for long and seamed. We kept saying keep batting normally and look to score. Rizvi takes on spin naturally, makes my job easier. We knew it was one big over and it’s run a ball. (Chat at the start of Shahbaz’s over) Let’s see if it’s spinning and the first three balls went for 12, wasn’t the plan to take him on but it worked out. I like No 6, you bat at different situations and try to take the team over the line,” said Stubbs.