New Delhi: After losing five out of six games at home, Delhi Capitals finally turned things around to finish their last game in Delhi on a winning note, defeating Rajasthan Royals by five wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
Ahead of the fixture, DC batting coach Ian Bell had touched upon a couple of points—the inability of the team to capitalise on home advantage, on the missed chances with the bat and maintaining the faith in skipper Axar Patel despite a lean run in IPL 2026. It was almost like a little prophecy that came true as Capitals won their second win at home.
Rajasthan Royals, needing a win in their chase for a playoffs spot, were reined in towards the end at 193/8, leaving Capitals to chase a relatively modest total. KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel then teed off to get 72/0 in the Powerplay. Rahul enjoyed a huge slice of early luck after a regulation catch was put down at backward short leg off Jofra Archer’s second delivery.
Rahul pounced on that reprieve, scoring boundaries and knocking around singles as Porel took on the aggressor’s role in the partnership. The opening duo stitched a 105-run partnership before Brijesh Sharma (2/44) provided the first breakthrough, dismissing the left-handed Porel for 51 off 31 balls.
Rahul put the team in a comfortable position before he fell for 56. But DC with the kind of season they have had, it wouldn’t have been shocking if there was a last-minute surprise. They lost wickets every two overs after the 10th as RR bowlers kept chipping away.
DC needed 52 from the last five overs but despite the South African duo Tristan Stubbs and David Miller falling for single digit scores, Axar held firm and saw through the chase. He was unbeaten on 34 off 18 and combined in the end with Impact Player Ashutosh Sharma (18* off 5b) adding the finishing touches.
Earlier, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi maintained this season’s routine, taking on bowlers of repute, of promise and experience. And when he took on Lungi Nigidi and hit him for six off his very first ball, it was in keeping with the trend.
In the next over, it was Mitchell Starc’s turn to face his aggression. There was no hesitation there either. He first hit him for four and two balls later deposited a short ball in the stands. Tripurana Vijay’s welcome to IPL was a brutal one as well–he was hit for 18 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed early, but RR powered through Powerplay with 75/1.
There was a bit of a lull in the middle but Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag contributed with individual fifties and a 70-run partnership. Parag found rhythm and smashed a 23-ball fifty. However, Starc, after going wicketless in two matches, bounced back in style. With three wickets in the 15th over–Parag, Donovan Ferreira (0) and Ravi Singh (4)–Starc forced RR to slip from 161/2 to 165/5, finishing with figures of 4/40.
It was a comeback that had largely not happened for DC in the season–in the first 14 overs, they were 160/2. In the last six overs, they lost 6 wickets for 33 runs.
Madhav Tiwari–the player of the match on debut in his previous outing–again impressed with two wickets. RR were forced to bring in Dasun Shanaka as the Impact Player but the Sri Lankan could only hit one six before holing out against Starc, becoming his fourth wicket.
In DC’s reverse fixture against RR earlier this season too, Starc had picked up 3/40. Interestingly, even in the last season, DC’s Super Over win against RR was down to a player of the match performance from Starc.
RR are currently in a three-way race with Punjab Kings (13 points) and Chennai Super Kings (12) for a spot in the playoffs.
Brief scores: RR 193/8 (V Sooryavanshi 46, D Jurel 53, R Parag 51, M Starc 4/40, L Ngidi 2/24, M Tiwari 2/27). DC 197/5 in 19.2 overs (A Porel 51, KL Rahul 56, A Patel 34*, J Archer 2/35, Brijesh Sharma 2/44). DC won by 5 wkts.
