Delhi Capitals’ Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign went from bad to worse on Monday night as the Axar Patel-led side suffered an embarrassing and humiliating defeat at the hands of the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The hosts were bundled out for 75, and the side failed to play out the full quota of 20 overs. At one stage, the score seemed like a football score with Delhi 8/6, but somehow the hosts managed to breach the lowest-ever team score in the IPL (49 by RCB).
The target of 76 was chased down quite comprehensively by RCB, and the team achieved victory in the seventh over of the innings. Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 23 and 34, respectively. After the victory, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar made a candid admission, saying he never expected the wicket in Delhi to be on the spicier side and have something on offer for the pacers.
It is worth noting that the previous match at the venue saw the highest chase in T20 cricket, with the Punjab Kings chasing down 265. However, a game later, total contrast was on offer as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood ran riot.
“Even I’m surprised the way the wicket played. All credit goes to the bowlers, the way they’ve bowled, especially in the powerplay, Hazelwood and Bhuvi, I think the way they hit those areas and got that bit of swing, that was tremendous to see. I think the swing was normal, and the good thing was we got early wickets, and that’s why it kept us in the driving seat,” Patidar said at the post-match presentation.
Why did Patidar not go for the kill?
At one stage, RCB had a realistic shot of bundling out Delhi Capitals for below 49 and handing over the unfortunate record of registering the lowest team total. However, Patidar let his foot off the pedal as he removed Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood from the attack after the powerplay. This led to David Miller, Kyle Jamieson and Abishek Porel getting a few hits and taking the score past the 50-run mark.
When asked why he removed the duo from the attack, Patidar said that the plan was always to give three overs each to the two seasoned pros.
“We have planned earlier that if we get early wickets, then we’ll go three-three overs of each. And let’s see how the wicket is behaving and the way afterwards the Suyash and Sheppy bowled, I think the areas. And Suyash also bowled, I think he got a lot of spin, I would say, but I think the way he bowled stump to stump, I think that was really good to see,” said Patidar.
With the win over the Delhi Capitals, RCB consolidated its second-place standing. The team will next take on the Gujarat Titans on Thursday, April 30.