KL Rahul (56 from 42 balls) and Abishek Porel (51 from 31 deliveries) struck impressive half-centuries as DC secured a 5-wicket victory over RR in Delhi. Earlier, Dhruv Jurel (53 from 40) and Riyan Parag (51 from 26) registered fifties as Rajasthan managed 193 for 8 after being asked to bat first. Young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi chipped in with 46 from 21 balls. The left-handed teenager overtook players like Virat Kohli and Abhishek Sharma to claim the record for most sixes (43) by an Indian batsman in a single IPL campaign. Rajasthan looked comfortable at 161/2, but Mitchell Starc’s devastating hat-trick over changed the match dynamics completely. The Australian speedster finished with impressive figures of 4 for 40. Madhav Tiwari also delivered a fine performance with 2 for 27. Delhi Capitals Triumph Over RR to Stay in Playoff Hunt.
TOSS
Delhi Capitals won the coin flip and chose to bowl first.
PLAYING XI
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI):
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Ravi Singh, Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI):
KL Rahul(w), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel(c), Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
There’s an excitement that surrounds every RR match lately, and justifiably so as the young prodigy continues to dominate bowling attacks during the powerplay. For the fifth occasion in IPL 2026, Sooryavanshi opened his account with a maximum – this time targeting Lungi Ngidi. While Yashasvi Jaiswal departed in that same over, Sooryavanshi continued his assault, executing a magnificent pull shot against Mitchell Starc, who delivered the ball into his body from around the wicket. He then targeted DC newcomer Tripurana Vijay in the fifth over, collecting three boundaries and a six. RR reached 75/1 after 6 overs with Sooryavanshi contributing a blistering 42 from just 16 balls.
DC might have thought Madhav Tiwari delivered a game-changing moment when he tempted Sooryavanshi into hitting a slower delivery to David Miller at the boundary. However, this setback didn’t derail RR as Parag produced his finest innings of an otherwise disappointing season. He began cautiously but something clicked as he launched two massive sixes off Axar Patel before demolishing Mukesh Kumar for 23 runs in the 12th over, targeting both express pace and variations. He reached his half-century in just 23 balls – his quickest in the tournament – keeping RR positioned for a total exceeding 200.
The fast bowler came back to completely derail RR’s momentum with three wickets in one over. Parag first mistimed a slower ball to Axar Patel at long-on, then Donovan Ferreira struck a fuller delivery to the same fielder, while newcomer Ravi Singh departed for a golden duck – trapped lbw by another slower delivery. Dhruv Jurel became the innings’ second fifty-scorer but found himself restricted in the closing stages. Tiwari bowled his slower balls brilliantly in the 17th over and removed Shubham Dubey, forcing RR to immediately introduce Dasun Shanaka as their impact player. He launched Ngidi for a six but fell victim to Starc in the 19th over. Ngidi dismissed Jurel lbw in the final over where just five runs were scored.
DELHI CAPITALS
KL Rahul lived dangerously while Abishek Porel electrified the crowd as DC launched their chase aggressively. Rahul received an early reprieve when Yash Raj Punja spilled a chance on 0 in the first over bowled by Jofra Archer. The paceman attempted to unsettle Porel with express pace – deliveries clocking 146 and 147 kmph forcing the opener backwards. However, a minor line error allowed Porel to hook him over fine leg for six. He followed up with two boundaries off Brijesh Sharma, propelling DC to 50/0 within four overs. Rahul, meanwhile, crossed 500 runs for the eighth time in IPL history. From DC’s powerplay total of 72, Porel contributed 38 runs in merely 20 balls.
DC emerged from the powerplay comfortably ahead of the required rate but decelerated slightly to reach 105/0 after 10 overs – remaining level with the target. Porel then tried to accelerate but on a day when slower deliveries claimed multiple victims, the DC opener joined the casualty list. He miscued one to Donovan Ferreira at the boundary. Archer returned for another over and eliminated Sahil Parakh while Yash Raj Punja bowled consecutive economical overs to maintain pressure with a 10-per-over requirement. Rahul, who achieved his 50th half-century score in the IPL, also decelerated and eventually deflected a Dasun Shanaka delivery onto his stumps. Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs entered the final phase needing 52 from 30 balls.
Nearly every death over saw momentum shifts between the teams. Adam Milne bowled tightly in a boundary-free nine-run over. Archer was then entrusted to replicate Starc’s earlier heroics. While he didn’t claim three scalps, he made a crucial breakthrough by dismissing Stubbs to further hamper DC’s chase. With Axar and David Miller at the crease, Parag gambled by introducing Ferreira’s off-spin. The strategy misfired as 16 runs flowed from the South African’s bowling. This reduced the equation to just 19 from 12 deliveries, but Brijesh returned and sent Miller packing. Any hopes of a late comeback were quickly dashed by DC’s impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma, whose rapid-fire 18 from five balls guided DC home.
Brief Scores:
Rajasthan Royals 193/8 [Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 46 (21), Riyan Parag 51 (26), Dhruv Jurel 53 (40); Mitchell Starc 4-40, Lungi Ngidi 2-24, Madhav Tiwari 2-27] lost to Delhi Capitals 197/5 in 19.2 overs [KL Rahul 56 (42), Axar Patel 34* (18); Jofra Archer 2-35] by 5 wickets.
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