Indian Premier League 2026 - 43rd Match
RR
0/0
vs
DC
0/0
Match starts at May 01, 14:00 GMT
won the toss and chose to
Commentary
Preview
Delhi Capitals began their IPL 2026 season with promise. A little past the midpoint in the league phase, they are in Jaipur carrying the unease of drift. Few collapses sting like the kind they just endured at home: first hitting 264 against Punjab Kings and still losing, and then, two days later, folding for 75. Somewhere between this excess and absence, their rhythm has gone missing. At a moment when seasons should go on overdrive, the Capitals find themselves searching for something, anything, to steady the line.
Help, in the form of Mitchell Starc, arrives at just about the right time. Cleared to return from May 1, his presence offers more than just a world class skill-set; it offers disruption from the inertia. And Delhi will need all of it, because their hosts Rajasthan Royals are something of a proof of concept - the side that recently handed table-toppers Punjab Kings their first defeat of the season. This is not a game that allows Delhi to ease back in; it demands that they snap back into shape.
There is also a contest within the contest, another one that once again feels generational. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, all of 15 and already the story of the season, has met elite pace with startling composure. Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood have all been negotiated with a calm that belies his age. Starc, with his left-arm angle and late swing, presents a different examination altogether. For Rajasthan, though, the greater comfort lies in what followed the top order the last time out - Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey finishing the job in Mullanpur, suggesting their batting may no longer end where it once did.
Delhi's questions, though, run deeper than just Starc's return. Their search for the right opening combination has begun to resemble restlessness, each change creating as much doubt as it solves. Sahil Parakh's debut lasted two balls - ended by a searing Bhuvneshwar inswinger - and it would feel harsh if that became the 18-year-old's only audition. Abishek Porel showed spunk as an Impact substitute, but promoting him back as KL Rahul's partner would mean yet another shuffle. In the middle of all this, Starc's return feels like a lift rather than a fix. Delhi Capitals will still need to find their own answers.
When: RR vs DC, IPL 2026, May 1 at 19:30 IST
Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
What to expect: Jaipur will simmer under 40 degrees Celsius heat through the afternoon, with the air staying heavy well into the evening. The black-soil surfaces here tend to keep the bounce on the lower side, but that trait didn't quite dominate the only game so far this season - RR's clash against SRH - when 229 was breached with ease.
Head to Head: RR 15-15 DC. Fittingly level, much like their last meeting, which needed a Super Over to decide matters.
Team Watch:
Rajasthan Royals
Injuries/Availability: No new injuries to report
Tactics & Analysis
Jofra Archer has nine wickets in the Powerplay this season and he'll be up against a DC side that has struggled to find any momentum or continuity through their opening partnerships. If he can knock over KL Rahul early, DC will be pushed into rocky terrain again.
Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja/Ravi Bishnoi
Delhi Capitals
Injuries/Availability: Lungi Ngidi began light training following his scary head injury against PBKS. But he will not play this game yet, owing to concussion protocols.
Tactics & Analysis:
Donovan Ferreira, the star of RR's win over PBKS, has been dismissed twice by Kuldeep Yadav in just nine balls faced against the wrist spinner. It's a match-up opportunity for Delhi to exploit through the middle overs.
Probable XII: Sahil Parakh/Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, T. Natarajan, Vipraj Nigam/Auqib Nabi
Did you know?
- David Miller averages 77.8 and has struck at 164.13 against Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 2472 runs puts him third in the list of players with most IPL runs before turning 25. Only Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant had more.
- Axar Patel with the bat in IPL 2026: 0, 2, 1, 26* (retd hurt), 2, 0
What they said:
"I still cannot understand what happened (against RCB). That is why they say you have to be on your toes at all times in cricket. Ifs and buts will be there - like if we had taken that catch or taken that run (against GT). That will keep happening. But each day, you have to be on your toes and keep doing what you have been doing well. You cannot take it easy for even one day." - Axar Patel on DC's sudden dip in form
Delhi Capitals began their IPL 2026 season with promise. A little past the midpoint in the league phase, they are in Jaipur carrying the unease of drift. Few collapses sting like the kind they just endured at home: first hitting 264 against Punjab Kings and still losing, and then, two days later, folding for 75. Somewhere between this excess and absence, their rhythm has gone missing. At a moment when seasons should go on overdrive, the Capitals find themselves searching for something, anything, to steady the line.
Help, in the form of Mitchell Starc, arrives at just about the right time. Cleared to return from May 1, his presence offers more than just a world class skill-set; it offers disruption from the inertia. And Delhi will need all of it, because their hosts Rajasthan Royals are something of a proof of concept - the side that recently handed table-toppers Punjab Kings their first defeat of the season. This is not a game that allows Delhi to ease back in; it demands that they snap back into shape.
There is also a contest within the contest, another one that once again feels generational. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, all of 15 and already the story of the season, has met elite pace with startling composure. Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood have all been negotiated with a calm that belies his age. Starc, with his left-arm angle and late swing, presents a different examination altogether. For Rajasthan, though, the greater comfort lies in what followed the top order the last time out - Donovan Ferreira and Shubham Dubey finishing the job in Mullanpur, suggesting their batting may no longer end where it once did.
Delhi's questions, though, run deeper than just Starc's return. Their search for the right opening combination has begun to resemble restlessness, each change creating as much doubt as it solves. Sahil Parakh's debut lasted two balls - ended by a searing Bhuvneshwar inswinger - and it would feel harsh if that became the 18-year-old's only audition. Abishek Porel showed spunk as an Impact substitute, but promoting him back as KL Rahul's partner would mean yet another shuffle. In the middle of all this, Starc's return feels like a lift rather than a fix. Delhi Capitals will still need to find their own answers.
When: RR vs DC, IPL 2026, May 1 at 19:30 IST
Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur
What to expect: Jaipur will simmer under 40 degrees Celsius heat through the afternoon, with the air staying heavy well into the evening. The black-soil surfaces here tend to keep the bounce on the lower side, but that trait didn't quite dominate the only game so far this season - RR's clash against SRH - when 229 was breached with ease.
Head to Head: RR 15-15 DC. Fittingly level, much like their last meeting, which needed a Super Over to decide matters.
Team Watch:
Rajasthan Royals
Injuries/Availability: No new injuries to report
Tactics & Analysis
Jofra Archer has nine wickets in the Powerplay this season and he'll be up against a DC side that has struggled to find any momentum or continuity through their opening partnerships. If he can knock over KL Rahul early, DC will be pushed into rocky terrain again.
Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja/Ravi Bishnoi
Delhi Capitals
Injuries/Availability: Lungi Ngidi began light training following his scary head injury against PBKS. But he will not play this game yet, owing to concussion protocols.
Tactics & Analysis:
Donovan Ferreira, the star of RR's win over PBKS, has been dismissed twice by Kuldeep Yadav in just nine balls faced against the wrist spinner. It's a match-up opportunity for Delhi to exploit through the middle overs.
Probable XII: Sahil Parakh/Abishek Porel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Kuldeep Yadav, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, T. Natarajan, Vipraj Nigam/Auqib Nabi
Did you know?
- David Miller averages 77.8 and has struck at 164.13 against Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal's tally of 2472 runs puts him third in the list of players with most IPL runs before turning 25. Only Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant had more.
- Axar Patel with the bat in IPL 2026: 0, 2, 1, 26* (retd hurt), 2, 0
What they said:
"I still cannot understand what happened (against RCB). That is why they say you have to be on your toes at all times in cricket. Ifs and buts will be there - like if we had taken that catch or taken that run (against GT). That will keep happening. But each day, you have to be on your toes and keep doing what you have been doing well. You cannot take it easy for even one day." - Axar Patel on DC's sudden dip in form
Squads:
Delhi Capitals Squad: Sahil Parakh, KL Rahul(w), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel(c), Dushmantha Chameera, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Auqib Nabi Dar, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Abishek Porel, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Pathum Nissanka, Rehan Ahmed, Madhav Tiwari, Mitchell Starc, Karun Nair
Rajasthan Royals Squad: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja, Ravi Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer, Adam Milne, Aman Rao Perala, Vignesh Puthur, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kwena Maphaka, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sushant Mishra, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeep Sharma