In the 43rd match of the IPL 2026, Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
After being put into bowl first, the Delhi bowling crew battled under the constant pressure of the Jaipur surface, but Mitchell Starc stood out on his comeback with brilliant numbers of 3/40. Starc made an early breakthrough by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and returning later to get rid of the threatening Riyan Parag, but he had no backing from the other end as the death-over execution stalled. T Natarajan (1/54) and Kyle Jamieson (1/48) were particularly expensive, while Kuldeep Yadav had a rare off-night, going wicketless for 41 runs. Axar Patel remained the most disciplined bowler, ending on 1/39 in an innings in which the run rate seldom fell below 11.
While chasing, the groundwork was laid by a scorching opening partnership, with Pathum Nissanka (62) attacking the RR bowlers early on. The hero of the show, however, was KL Rahul (75), whose commanding outing held the required run rate under check throughout the middle innings. Towards the latter half of the innings, Ashutosh Sharma (25*) and Tristan Stubbs (18*) remained composed, with Ashutosh completing the game in style with a boundary off the first ball of the last over.
The Royals’ innings was a masterpiece in middle-over recovery followed by late-order explosion, with a staggering 225/6. After losing both openers for only 12 runs, skipper Parag (90) delivered a stunning “redemption” effort to steady the innings. Dhruv Jurel (42) provided solid assistance, while Donovan Ferreira (47*) stole the show with a blazing cameo. Ferreira’s strike rate of 335.71, which included six sixes, drastically changed the momentum and converted a promising total into a scary one.
Faced with a flat surface and a motivated DC top order, the RR bowling attack struggled to defend 225. Jofra Archer (1/46) picked up KL Rahul’s vital wicket, temporarily giving RR hope, but the lack of early breakthroughs meant DC were always ahead of the game. Tushar Deshpande was the most productive of the pacers, taking 1/38, but the spinners failed to contain the flood of boundaries.
With this win, DC now have eight points and are sixth in the standings.
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