The Delhi Capitals have risen to the top four with a thrilling win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026. But why did DC defeat RCB?
Today’s game was match 26 of IPL 2026. It was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, with the away team winning the toss and deciding to bowl first. The Royal Challengers got off to a solid start and maintained an RPO of 10 till the middle of the innings. However, the Capitals pulled back in the death to restrict RCB to just 175 runs.
In response, DC lost early wickets. The innings was carried by opener KL Rahul and middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs. Delhi did not lose any more wickets after the 11th over. While captain Axar Patel was retired hurt, Stubbs, along with David Miller, finished the game in a thrilling manner. They won the game by six wickets with one ball left.
Here, we will discuss the three reasons why RCB lost to DC in this match of IPL 2026.
Why RCB Lost To DC In This Match
1) Not Allowing Batters To Settle In
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru batting order seems the most well-rounded and dangerous in the IPL. There is a fine mix of experience and youth, stability and explosiveness, here. Tonight, however, none of the batters, apart from Phil Salt, could make a decent score.
It starts with Viat Kohli, who is in the Orange Cap race this season. While Salt gave the team a solid start in the powerplay, Virat played a supporting role. But before the veteran could turn his stable start into big runs, he was dismissed in the sixth over for 19 off 13.
Devdutt Padikkal, yet another batter in fine form this season, got out in the 10th over for 18 off 13. Then, in the 11th over, while the score was already past 100, Phil Salt departed after a magnificent 63 off 38. This left two dangerous yet new batters on strike.
Captain Rajat Patidar, who has stepped up with the bat this season, made just eight runs in four overs before his dismissal in the 13th over. Tim David departed before making a big impact, too, scoring 26 off 17.
Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma stunk up the joint at the death with his 14 off 20, Romario Shepherd made just a single run, and Krunal Pandya scored just 12 runs in 10 balls at the final stage of the innings.
So, apart from Salt, none of the RCB players played a decent innings tonight. A massive reason behind their being stopped at a below-par score.
2) Choked At The Death
The Royal Challengers’ batting order showed no signs of life in the last six overs of their innings, as the Delhi Capitals did their best to stop this dangerous middle-order from making any runs.
At the 14-over mark, RCB were cruising at 139/4 with Tim David and Jitesh Sharma on strike and a couple of batters remaining in the order. The 15th over, bowled by Mukesh Kumar, saw him concede only seven runs.
Then came the excellent 16th over, bowled by skipper Patel. The captain not only conceded just two runs but also dismissed Tim David. It was a wider ball, outside the reach of the tall Aussie, who nicked it to short third-man.
The 17th over, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, saw the leggie concede just five runs and take the wicket of the ever-lethal Romario Shepherd, catching the West Indies all-rounder in front of the stumps.
While the 18th over by Lungi Ngidi went for 14 runs, the 19th by T Natarajan saw the Indian pacer give away only a couple of runs. Then, in the 20th, Ngidi returned to the attack, where he conceded just six runs, took the wicket of Jitesh Sharma, and ran Pandya out.
In the last six overs, RCB managed to make only 36 runs, which is run-a-ball.
3) Recovering From Early Wickets
The Delhi Capitals, after a stellar bowling performance, were in a prime position to win this match tonight. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had other plans.
Opener Pathum Nissanka departed in the first over for just one run by Bhuvi. Then, Karun Nair, playing his first game of the season, was dismissed for just five in the third over by Kumar. And to round off a fine opening spell, Bhuvneshwar dismissed Sameer Rizvi in the very same over, who departed for two runs.
At the end of the third over, DC’s score was 22/3 as the away team looked on the back foot. However, here is where the rebuild of this inning would start.
KL Rahul, the opening batter, saw wickets falling from one end but decided not to slow down. In the fourth over, he made 14 runs. While the last two overs of the powerplay were economical, the score at the sixth-over mark was 56/3, above the required run rate.
Rahul, along with Tristan Stubbs, stabilised and rebuilt the Capitals’ innings. The two played cautiously while punishing poor balls. By the 10th over, KL had made a 50 in 30 deliveries, and the score was 87/3.
But then, disaster struck. After bringing his team back into the game, Rahul departed in the 11th over for 57 off 34. This brought Captain Axar Patel to the crease.
Axar wasted no time in establishing his place on the pitch, hitting a four on the first ball. And just like that, Stubbs and Axar remained around the required rate for the next few overs.
While Patel would not get out, he would suffer cramps in the 16th over. So, after making 26 off 19, he was off the pitch and was replaced by David Miller.
At 135/4 at the end of the 16th, Delhi needed 41 runs in the last four overs. But then, Josh Hazelwood would bowl an excellent 17th for just four runs. In the 18th over, Stubbs reached his half-century in 41 balls, a slow and anchoring innings.
10 runs in the 19th over meant DC required 15 off the final over. This match was headed towards a thrilling conclusion.
The over was bowled by Romario Shepherd. The first ball was a single, and so was the second ball. This left 13 required off, four with David Miller on strike. Miller had been in a similar situation earlier this season. Against GT, with eight required in three, he hit a six but failed to make a single run on the next two balls.
However, tonight would be a different story. The veteran South African hit a six on the third ball. With seven required and three off, he hit another six, and then a four to finish the match.
With this win, the Delhi Capitals have risen to fourth in the IPL 2026 points table with three wins and two losses in five games. For his not out 60 off 47, Tristan Stubbs was named the player of the Match.
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