Mitchell Starc’s spell in the final overs set the tone as Delhi Capitals defended the pressure of a fluctuating IPL run, beating Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in Delhi to keep their campaign alive. Starc’s four-wicket haul—featuring a decisive spell of three wickets in one over—was backed by late-hitting from Axar Patel, David Miller and Ashutosh Sharma, who helped Delhi overhaul a competitive total with 11 balls to spare. The defeat also cost RR a chance to climb into fourth place and intensify the race in the chasing pack.
Key takeaways
- Delhi Capitals chased 197/5 successfully in 19.2 overs to win by five wickets.
- Mitchell Starc finished with figures of 4/40, including a triple-wicket over that disrupted Rajasthan’s momentum.
- Rajasthan posted 193/8, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scoring 46 off 21 and Riyan Parag making 51 off 26.
- KL Rahul led the chase with 56 off 42, while Axar Patel remained unbeaten on 34 off 18.
- Ashutosh Sharma’s quick cameo at the end—18 runs off five balls—helped Delhi cross the line in the death overs.
Rajasthan’s innings: Sooryavanshi’s burst, Parag’s best, Starc’s finish
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again grabbed the spotlight early, continuing a trend that has defined his recent RR outings. For the fifth time in IPL 2026, the youngster reached the boundary with a six in the powerplay, this time striking Lungi Ngidi. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell in that same over, but Sooryavanshi carried on with a sharp pull against Mitchell Starc, who had angled the ball toward him from around the stumps. In the fifth over, he attacked DC’s bowling—hitting three fours and a six off Tripurana Vijay—helping Rajasthan reach 75/1 after six overs, with Sooryavanshi contributing 42 off 16.
Rajasthan’s middle phase gained traction through Riyan Parag, who produced the best knock of an otherwise inconsistent season. The innings had threatened to tilt after Madhav Tiwari got Sooryavanshi to hit a slower ball to David Miller at long-on, removing the early accelerator. However, Parag took control. He began cautiously, then suddenly switched gears, launching two towering sixes against Axar Patel. He followed it up by smashing Mukesh Kumar—both quick-and-change-of-pace deliveries—for 23 runs in the 12th over. Parag then raced to a 23-ball half-century, his fastest IPL fifty, keeping RR on track for a total beyond 200.
Despite that strong platform, the final stretch swung heavily in DC’s favour once Starc returned. After RR had looked set at 160/2 in 14 overs, they slipped to 33/6 in the last six. Starc’s triple-wicket over changed the trajectory: Parag mistimed a slower delivery to Axar Patel at long-on, then Donovan Ferreira struck a pace-on ball to the same fielder, and debutant Ravi Singh was trapped leg-before on a second ball for a duck off another slower option. Dhruv Jurel also reached the half-century milestone, but he failed to convert—his stand was halted at the end.
Tiwari delivered the next blow in the 17th over, using his slower balls effectively to remove Shubham Dubey. Dasun Shanaka was introduced as the impact substitute immediately, but his momentum didn’t last: he struck Ngidi for a six, only to be dismissed by Starc in the 19th over. In the final over, Ngidi pinned Jurel lbw, and with only five runs coming from the last set, Rajasthan finished on 193/8.
Delhi’s chase: Powerplay control, a mid-innings pause, and a death-over finish
Delhi Capitals began their run chase in the best possible way, with KL Rahul receiving early chances and Abishek Porel delivering the most decisive impact. Rahul was dropped on 0 by Yash Raj Punja in the opening over off Jofra Archer. Archer then tried to unsettle Porel with pace, including deliveries clocked at 146 and 147 kmph that nudged the opener onto the back foot. A minor line error allowed Porel to pull the ball past fine leg for a six.
Porel then took the powerplay forward aggressively, striking two fours off Brijesh Sharma to lift Delhi to 50/0 in just four overs. Rahul meanwhile progressed steadily, passing 500 IPL runs for the eighth time. Of the 72 runs Delhi scored in the powerplay, Porel accounted for 38 from only 20 balls, underlining how much of the early damage had been concentrated in the opener’s hands.
After that fast start, Delhi managed the chase with control rather than panic. They moved from 72 in the powerplay to 105/0 after 10 overs, still comfortably aligned with the required run rate. Porel attempted to break the game open further, but on a day when slower balls troubled several batters, he mistimed a shot to Donovan Ferreira at long-on. Archer returned for a further over and removed Sahil Parakh, while Yash Raj Punja bowled tight spells to keep the asking rate under steady pressure. Rahul, who was reaching his 50th IPL fifty-plus score, also slowed down slightly and was eventually dismissed when he played a delivery from Dasun Shanaka onto his stumps.
With Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs in the middle, Delhi needed 52 off the final 30. The death overs proved to be a roller-coaster. Adam Milne kept things tight with a boundary-less nine-run over, then Archer was given an opportunity to deliver the kind of impact Starc had earlier. While Archer did not claim three wickets, he did manage one key breakthrough, removing Stubbs and pushing Delhi further back in the chase.
After that, Parag handed the ball to Ferreira for his off-spin, but the move didn’t work out as planned. Ferreira conceded 16 runs, and the target margin swung even wider, leaving Delhi with 19 needed from 12. Brijesh then dismissed Miller, but the situation didn’t fully collapse—Delhi’s impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma took control. His five-ball 18 ensured the chase stayed on course, and Delhi finished with 197/5 in 19.2 overs, winning by five wickets.
What’s next for both sides
Delhi Capitals conclude their league phase against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on May 24. Rajasthan Royals return home quickly with only a day’s turnaround, before hosting Lucknow Super Giants on May 19.
