Royal Challengers Bengaluru moved closer to the IPL 2026 playoffs with a thumping nine-wicket triumph over Delhi Capitals. RCB sit second in the standings, collecting 12 points from eight matches, with Punjab Kings one spot ahead on 13. Delhi, meanwhile, are seventh with six points from their eight outings. The contest swung decisively in Bengaluru’s favour almost from the start, as a ferocious powerplay tore the heart out of Delhi’s innings and set up a chase that never truly looked in doubt.
Bengaluru’s campaign of pace and pressure turned the game into a near instant one-sided affair. Josh Hazlewood returned figures of 4/12 while Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck for 3/5, and both ensured that Delhi were forced to play catch-up from the earliest overs. Within the first three overs, the hosts were left gasping at 13 for six, having been dismantled by two brutal spells in quick succession. In total, only Abhishek Porel with 30, David Miller with 19, and Kyle Jamieson with 12 managed to reach double figures, while Delhi managed just eight fours and a single six across their innings.
Delhi’s total of 75 in 16.3 overs was enough to avoid being the poorest score in IPL history, though it still came with its own sting. The franchise’s struggle was highlighted by the fact that RCB had previously posted 49 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017, a benchmark that Delhi’s outing did not quite match. When Bengaluru went after the target, the chase was smoothed out immediately by openers Virat Kohli (23) and Jacob Bethell (20), who ensured RCB were never made to chase under pressure.
The only real disruption came when Bethell was dismissed by a brilliant catch from T Natarajan off Kyle Jamieson. After that, Devdutt Padikkal provided the momentum with a composed 34, and the partnership between Kohli and Padikkal turned the chase into a formality. Kohli’s trademark calm and Padikkal’s free-flowing approach carried Bengaluru past the finishing line comfortably, reaching the target in 6.3 overs to complete a dominant night in front of a packed crowd.
The stadium had come expecting Kohli to take centre stage, but with the target kept small, the match didn’t allow for a prolonged batting spectacle. Even so, Kohli finished with consecutive sixes off T Natarajan, adding the kind of flourish that suits a low-pressure chase. From Delhi’s perspective, the evening started with a dramatic contrast: they had previously built momentum by piling up 264 in a batting show that still ended in defeat against Punjab Kings, yet in this match their batting unit looked tentative and brittle, unable to find solutions under sustained bowling pressure.
RCB’s bowlers had Delhi playing survival cricket within the first three overs, their accuracy and movement turning the contest lopsided almost immediately. The damage began early as Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced an in-dipping yorker on the second ball of the innings to uproot debutant Sahil Parakh’s middle stump, setting the tone for what followed. Hazlewood then took control of the momentum, sending shockwaves through the ground by removing last match centurion KL Rahul for 1 and Sameer Rizvi for 0 in successive deliveries.
Rahul was caught in the wrong rhythm, miscues coming after the ball came onto him, while Rizvi edged a delivery as he played away from his body without any convincing footwork. There was no recovery after that. Bhuvneshwar returned to deepen Delhi’s misery, dismissing Tristan Stubbs for 5—Stubbs went for a jab at a length ball, and the outside edge was safely taken by Devdutt Padikkal at slip. The collapse reached its peak shortly afterwards when Delhi captain Axar Patel was dismissed for a duck, nicking a teasing outswinger behind, with the home crowd left stunned as the wickets kept tumbling.
In a matter of moments, Delhi were reduced to 8 for 5, and then to 9 for 6, in just three overs. It felt less like a competitive contest and more like a scripted collapse. RCB’s pacers weren’t merely taking wickets—they were dismantling an entire batting lineup that looked shell-shocked and devoid of answers. During the powerplay, Delhi managed only one boundary, struck by Stubbs, and even then the hosts continued to reel at 13 for six, with Nitish Rana also becoming another victim of Hazlewood.
It was fitting that Hazlewood ended the Capitals innings by getting Porel out as well, wrapping up a brutal opening spell that defined the match and left Bengaluru to complete their chase with ease.
