Delhi Capitals (DC) returned to winning ways after securing a seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Match 43 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, May 1.
Winning the toss and batting first, RR scored 225 runs on the board, thanks to their captain Riyan Parag, who scored 90 runs at a strike-rate of 180. Dhruv Jurel (42) formed a good partnership with him, with Donovan Ferreira providing a brilliant finish with his quick-fire 47.
However, DC chased down the target with five balls to spare thanks to a brilliant opening partnership of 110 runs. Contributions from Pathum Nissanka (62) and KL Rahul (75) set the right platform for the Capitals to register their first win in four matches.
talking points:
1. Rajasthan Royals' middle order handles the scoring responsibility
In a rare scene, both RR's The openers failed to perform well today. However, the middle order ensured that they would still reach a total above 200. Captain Riyan Parag was the star with the bat, scoring 90 runs off just 50 balls. Dhruv Jurel also scored 42, before Donovan Ferreira provided the finishing touches with an unbeaten 47 at a strike rate of 335.71.
2. Welcome to IPL 2026, Mitchell Starc
DC fans were well rewarded for their patience to see Mitchell Starc make a comeback in this season's IPL. Australian fast bowler was hit for a six by Yashasvi Jaiswal on the first ball, but he took his wicket after two balls. The 36-year-old finished his first game in the IPL with two and three wickets in an over.
3. KL Rahul 2.0
KL Rahul has completely reinvented himself in this year's IPL, which is evident not only from his attacking intent but also from the number of balls he faces in an innings. The right-handed batsman led his team by scoring 75 runs in 40 balls. During the tournament, he has scored 433 runs at a strike-rate of almost 186, his highest in a single IPL season.
who said what:
Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals captain:
“I thought it was a good score. I thought 200 was a par score here. It was going to be a bit slow, but I think we could have bowled better in the middle overs, not letting them get away a bit. And then a lot of boundaries in the same over and that was repeated again and again. So I thought we missed it, but the decision we took didn't hurt. (On the decision not to promote Ferreira) It was really a The lefty thought there were, what, eight, nine overs left? We wanted to get around 8 or 9 runs on the spinners and then hopefully it's not too serious, but thankfully we have about a week to answer to that. But at the end of the day, my job is to get two points, so if we lose the game my score and my innings don't really matter.”
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals captain:
“Even in the last interview, I said you have to keep doing the right things, I was happy with the way the boys played. We executed our plans and as a captain I couldn't be happier, it makes me happy when you take the game away from them in the powerplay. He is a great player, after three months he is playing and performances like this show why he is such a great player. I was playing as a leader in the Indian team, Decision making is something you and the coaches have to work on. It's okay, sorry for your loss and I want to dedicate this win to Delhi fans.”
KL Rahul, Player of the Match:
“Of course it happens. At the end of the day we play games to win. It's not as fun if you score runs, break records and don't get the W. The dressing room is in a good place, we try to keep it as balanced as possible, the results haven't been in our favour, but we've had some honest talks, every other game we've been in the competition, a moment has taken the game away. There were a few areas where we needed to be sharp and crisp, really happy to get this win and really I was hoping to get a few more balls in the powerplay, but the way they batted, they are a good team to win the game with the bat and the ball. They batted really well but couldn't get past 40, but that was a big talking point for them in the past few years. Have worked and am doing what modern T20 cricket requires.
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