New Delhi: The Delhi Capitals kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling five-wicket victory over the Rajasthan Royals in an Indian Premier League 2026 clash in New Delhi on Sunday, riding on fluent half-centuries from Abishek Porel and KL Rahul before skipper Axar Patel finished the chase in style.
Chasing a challenging target of 194, Delhi Capitals crossed the line with four balls to spare after Axar smashed an unbeaten 34 off 18 deliveries, laced with two fours and two sixes. Rahul played the anchor’s role with a composed 56 off 42 balls, while Porel provided the early momentum with a blistering 51 from just 31 deliveries.
Delhi began aggressively, with Porel and Rahul putting the Rajasthan attack under pressure from the outset. The pair hammered 27 runs in the opening two overs and raced to 72/0 at the end of the powerplay — DC’s highest powerplay score of IPL 2026.
The opening duo continued to dominate as Delhi crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over before Brijesh Sharma finally broke the stand by dismissing Porel after a sparkling knock featuring seven boundaries and a six.
Jofra Archer then removed Sahil Parakh for 9, while Dasun Shanaka dismissed Rahul soon after to give Rajasthan a glimmer of hope. With 43 needed from the final four overs, Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs steadied the innings before Archer sent Stubbs back for 4.
David Miller joined Axar and the pair shifted momentum decisively by taking 16 runs off Donovan Ferreira in the 18th over. Although Brijesh Sharma removed Miller for 9, Axar and Ashutosh Sharma calmly wrapped up the chase in the final over.
Earlier, Rajasthan Royals appeared headed for a massive total after an explosive start led by teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel and skipper Riyan Parag. However, Mitchell Starc’s superb spell helped Delhi pull things back as RR finished on 193/8 after once looking set to breach the 220-mark.
After Delhi opted to field first in a must-win contest, Rajasthan lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early when Lungi Ngidi deceived him with a slower delivery.
Sooryavanshi then launched a fierce counterattack, smashing 46 off just 21 balls with five fours and three sixes. Alongside Dhruv Jurel, he powered RR to 75/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Madhav Tiwari eventually ended Sooryavanshi’s entertaining knock in the eighth over, but Rajasthan continued their charge through Parag. The RR captain tore into the Delhi bowlers, smashing a rapid 51 off only 26 balls that included a flurry of sixes.
Rajasthan were cruising at 140/2 after 12 overs before Starc triggered a dramatic collapse. The left-arm pacer struck twice in successive deliveries, removing Parag and Donovan Ferreira for a duck, before also dismissing Ravi Singh in the same over.
The late breakthroughs halted Rajasthan’s momentum significantly despite Jurel’s fighting 53 off 40 balls. Starc returned in the death overs to remove Shanaka, while Ngidi dismissed Jurel in the final over to ensure RR finished below the 200-run mark.
Starc finished with outstanding figures of 4/40, while Ngidi claimed 2/24 and Madhav Tiwari picked up 2/27 in an impressive bowling effort from Delhi Capitals.
