Delhi Capitals’ batting just didn’t click again. They’re still struggling at home — this time, they slumped to a disappointing 155 for seven against Chennai Super Kings in the IPL on Tuesday. The pitch gave the spinners plenty to work with and every now and then the ball would just stop dead, but Delhi’s batters never really found a way to handle it.
The slide started early. Pathum Nissanka tried to clear mid-on but mistimed a slower ball from Mukesh Choudhary and was caught. Nissanka had managed a quick 19 off 15, and K.L. Rahul’s 12 off 13 at least brought some early boundaries, but neither lasted long. Rahul bloomed for a moment, then went for an inside-out shot off Akeal Hosein, didn’t get there, and ended up caught by CSK’s captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Cricbuzz had harsh words for DC in the 2026 IPL powerplays — calling them the “worst” team across four stats:
Wickets lost: 21
Average runs per wicket: 23.85
Run rate: 8.35
Dot-ball percentage: 46.4%
DC crawled to 37 for two after the first six overs. Hosein bowled three of those six himself, including the over where Rahul fell. The innings just wouldn’t pick up speed, and you could feel the tension ramping up in the stands — most fans were decked out in yellow, cheering CSK and M.S. Dhoni (who wasn’t even at the game). “CSK, CSK” echoed through the stadium. The mood fit the cricket: Delhi seemed haunted by their last match here, when they got bowled out for just 75.
After the powerplay, Noor Ahmad became a nightmare for DC. He got Karun Nair and Nitish Rana out, both undone by clumsy sweeps. Then Axar Patel, Delhi’s captain, had a perfect chance to steady things but gave a simple catch to cover on a Gurjapneet Singh ball that stuck in the pitch. At this point, DC were floundering at 69 for five in 11 overs.
Tristan Stubbs (38 off 31) and Impact Player Sameer Rizvi (40 not out off 24) managed a few big hits and put together 65 runs, but they couldn’t repair the damage done early on. Delhi finished, once again, with a total that just didn’t measure up.
