Delhi Capitals will square-off against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in match 39 of 2026 Indian Premier League at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Monday.
DC head into this match on the back of a shock defeat against Punjab Kings. Batting first against PBKS, DC mounted a huge score of 264/2 on the back of an unbeaten 152 in 67 balls by KL Rahul. However DC's bowling and fielding was sub-par as they allowed PBKS to pull-off the biggest run-chase in the history of men's T20 cricket.
The defeat left the Axar Patel-led side lingering at seventh place on the IPL points tally. To make matters worse, Lungi Ngidi, the team's leading overseas pacer, picked up a serious injury on his head while attempting a catch that left him concussed and the bowler had to be immediately rushed to a hospital in an ambulance.
The team though can draw inspiration from their hard-fought victory over RCB in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. That game saw Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel pick two wickets each as RCB were restricted to 175/8. DC's chase was powered by Rahul who struck 57 off 34 balls and Tristian Stubbs who remained unbeaten on 60 off 47 balls.
Meanwhile RCB beat Gujarat Titans in their previous fixture to continue their fine run this season.RCB's run-chase was powered by Virat Kohli's innings of 81 in 55 balls and an entertaining cameo of 55 in mere 27 balls by Devdutt Padikall.
This is a crucial match for DC as they need to beat RCB to keep their play-off hopes alive.
Weather and pitch
The India Meteorological Department has predicted heat wave in the city for Monday. The temperature could go as high as 44° C and the minimum temperature will be around 25°C.
Expect a high-scoring pitch for this match.
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Players to Watch
- KL Rahul (Delhi Capitals): KL Rahul has produced some brilliant innings this season. His 152 not out is the third highest individual score in the history of the IPL and the highest score by an Indian batter. Before reaching the hundred, Rahul had hit two half-centuries.
- Virat Kohli (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Virat's form this season has been brilliant. The former RCB skipper has amassed 328 runs in 7 innings including three fifties. If Virat gets a good start, then RCB is very likely to get to a big score.
Possible XI
- DC: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (capt), Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar
- RCB: Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Josh Hazlewood,
Broadcast and LIVE stream details
All the IPL matches are being broadcasted one the Star Sports television channels and can be streamed LIVE on the Jio Hotstar app and website.
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