Can Delhi Capitals turn things around with a rapid one-match turnaround after their painful loss to Punjab Kings, who chased down a world-record 265 with more than an over to spare? In the IPL’s relentless rhythm, they’ll have to. Delhi can’t afford to linger on the margins, particularly with second-placed Royal Challengers Bengaluru arriving soon. By the halfway stage, DC sit with more defeats than wins, with every one of their four losses coming in their most recent five matches—following a promising beginning to their IPL 2026 campaign. The most recent setback at home came against the table-toppers PBKS, where Delhi posted a massive total but ultimately saw their bowling and fielding collectively fall short, despite a late lift from their batters. Lungi Ngidi’s unusual injury on Saturday also disrupted their bowling plans. With Mitchell Starc ruled out until the start of next month, the worry around an already uneven pace unit has only grown.
Injuries and form issues may have left Delhi hurting and exposed, but they can’t keep dropping points as the season moves into its more demanding stretch. For RCB, the timing couldn’t be better to settle scores from the reverse meeting while also strengthening their push for a top-two finish. Virat Kohli remains firmly in the hunt for the Orange Cap, yet this RCB side has consistently benefited from a spread of contributions rather than relying on one mainstay. Devdutt Padikkal’s steady run of performances and Rajat Patidar’s aggressive middle-overs batting have given the top order and middle stage more stability and punch, making the batting lineup harder to unsettle.
If RCB have an edge anywhere, it’s likely in the bowling department. Led by the economical Bhuvneshwar Kumar and boosted by the return of Josh Hazlewood, their attack appears better positioned to target Delhi’s batting vulnerabilities. With conditions expected to deliver plenty of runs, the contest could tilt on how well RCB manage their overs—staying disciplined with the ball and executing under pressure—especially with Virat Kohli’s Delhi in mind.
When: Monday, April 27 at 7:30 PM IST
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
What to expect: Another high-scoring affair. Since IPL 2023, the average first-innings total in Delhi has been 200.
Head-to-head: RCB currently hold the upper hand, leading 20-13 (with one no-result) from 34 meetings. Since 2023, though, the rivalry has been tightly balanced, with each team winning three matches. At Kotla, Delhi have managed only four victories against RCB, who have won seven times at the venue.
Teams Watch
Delhi Capitals
Injuries & Availability: Lungi Ngidi has returned to the team hotel after being cleared of any serious injury, but he is not expected to be available immediately. Among the options in reserve, Kyle Jamieson and Dushmantha Chameera are the most likely like-for-like replacements.
Tactics & Matchups: Jitesh Sharma has found it difficult to get going against Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, managing only 32 and 15 runs respectively, with strike rates of 110.34 and 78.94. Together, the DC spin pairing has accounted for the wicketkeeper four times in T20s, setting up an intriguing battle during the middle overs.
Probable XII: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (C), Kyle Jamieson/Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Auqib Nabi
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Injuries & Availability: Phil Salt has been ruled out of the Delhi match, but Rasikh Dar looked fit and sharp during training the day before the game.
Tactics & Matchups: In his debut IPL spell, Pathum Nissanka has been inconsistent, with his dismissal often arriving within the Powerplay. On Monday, he’ll face Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who has dismissed him three times in four T20 meetings, conceding just 22 runs off 24 balls—something RCB will hope to turn into an early advantage. Bhuvneshwar has also dismissed KL Rahul and Nitish Rana twice each across all T20s.
Probable XII: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salim Dar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma
Did you know?
- Virat Kohli has been dismissed for a single-digit score only once across 21 IPL innings during run-chases.
- Since 2023, RCB have won 91.67% of matches when Kohli scores a fifty, but their win rate drops to 33.33% when he doesn’t.
- KL Rahul has scored 839 runs against RCB, striking at just over 145 with an average of 69.91 from 18 innings.
What they said:
“Krunal Pandya is a player that this game is going to remember for a long time. He’s doing something that has not been done before, pushing the boundaries of what finger-spin means. He’s bowling deliveries that people really couldn’t fathom a few years ago and he’s becoming a master at it and he’s using it very cleverly when the situation demands and he’s using that as a strength of his to put pressure back on the person that he’s bowling against. It’s actually quite interesting to see how he goes about it mentally as well. He’s not someone who’s just doing it because it looks cool. He knows that given the moment when he does want to use it, it does create a doubt in the batter and a lot of the times delivers the result that he wants out of that ball.”
Dinesh Karthik, RCB batting coach, on Krunal Pandya’s success
