The Delhi Capitals (DC) returned to winning ways after securing a seven-wicket win over the 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 posted 225 runs on the board, thanks to their captain Riyan Parag, who scored 90 at a strike-rate of 180. He was partnered well by Dhruv Jurel (42), with Donovan Ferreira providing an excellent finish with his quick-fire 47.
DC, however, chased down the total with five balls to spare, thanks to their brilliant opening partnership worth 110 runs. Pathum Nissanka (62) and KL Rahul’s (75) contributions set the perfect platform for the Capitals to register their first win in four matches.
Talking Points:
1. Rajasthan Royals’ middle order takes over the scoring responsibility
In a rare sight, both of RR’s openers failed to deliver today. However, the middle order made sure that they would still reach a total well above 200. Captain Riyan Parag was the star with the bat, scoring 90 off just 50 balls. Dhruv Jurel also chipped in with 42, before Donovan Ferreira provided the finishing touch, hitting 47 not out at a strike-rate of 335.71.
2. Welcome to IPL 2026, Mitchell Starc
DC fans were handsomely rewarded for their patience to see Mitchell Starc make a comeback in this season’s IPL. The Australian pacer was hit for a six by Yashasvi Jaiswal off the first ball, only for him to take his wicket two balls later. The 36-year-old ended his first game back in the IPL by taking three wickets, two in one over.
3. KL Rahul 2.0
KL Rahul has completely reinvented himself at this year’s IPL, which is evident by not only his attacking intent, but also by the number of balls he faces in an innings. The right-handed batter scored a 40-ball 75 to put his side in command. Over the course of the tournament, he has scored 433 runs at a strike-rate of nearly 186, his highest in a single season of the IPL.
Who said what:
Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals captain:
“I think it was a good score. I thought 200 was a par score here. It was going to slow down a bit, but I think we could have bowled way better in the middle overs, not let them get away a little too much. And then a lot of boundaries in one single over and that repeated. So I felt we missed the trick with that, but no harm with the decision we made. (on the decision to not promote Ferraira) It was actually a lefty idea and I don’t know actually. There were what, six, seven overs to go, or no, eight, nine overs to go? We wanted to delay it slightly, score about 8 or 9 runs off the spinners and then face pace bowling from ball one. I feel that was the plan, nothing much to think about that. (On his injury) Hopefully it’s not too serious, but a little bit on the hamstring. Thankfully, we have about a week break, so we’ll clear it out. (On his batting) I don’t think I need to answer any critics or anyone talking about it. But at the end of the day, my job is to get two points. So my score and my innings don’t really matter if we lose the game.”
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals captain:
“Even in the last interview, I have kept telling you have to keep doing the right things, happy with the way the boys played. We executed our plans and as a captain I can’t be happier, in the powerplay you take the game away from them then it makes me happy. He is a legend, after three months he’s playing and to put in such a performance, shows why he’s such a great player. I was playing as a leader in the Indian team, the decision making is something you have to work on and the coaches helped me as well. It is fine, icing has been done. Sorry for your loss and I would like to dedicate this win to the Delhi fans.”
KL Rahul, Player of the Match:
“Of course it does. At the end of the day we play the sport to win. You score the runs, break the records and don’t get the W then it is not that much fun. The dressing room has been in a decent place, we try to keep it as balanced as possible, the results haven’t gone our way, but we had some honest conversations, every other game we were in the contest, one moment took the game away. Some areas we needed to get sharp and crisp, really happy to get this win and really hoping to sting in some wins. I was hoping to get some more balls in the powerplay, but the way Pathum batted it put us ahead in the powerplay. They are a good team that wins the game in powerplays with bat and ball, with the ball as well we started well. He’s batted really well but couldn’t get past those 40s, but his first IPL fifty will get him going. The strike rate, it was a big talking point for some years, I have worked on that and doing what modern T20 cricket needs.”
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