Royal Challengers Bengaluru will square-off against Delhi Capitals in match 26 of 2026 Indian Premier League at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
RCB have been in excellent form this season in the IPL, winning four of their first five matches. The defending champions have looked dominant, registering emphatic victories over arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, while also getting the better of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants. The Rajat Patidar-led side's only setback so far came against a rampaging Rajasthan Royals.
Former skipper Virat Kohli has led the charge with the bat, topping the run charts with 228 runs in five innings, including two half-centuries. Patidar has also been in sublime touch, sitting third on the list of leading run-scorers with 222 runs. The duo will take added confidence from the depth in the batting unit, with Devdutt Padikkal, Tim David and Phil Salt all contributing with crucial half-centuries.
On the bowling front, the Indian duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya have been standout performers, claiming seven wickets each and serving as the backbone of the team's attack. Newcomer Jacob Duffy has impressed whenever he has got a chance to play. The New Zealand speedster has picked six wickets in three matches he has featured in. Josh Hazlewood was awarded the Player of the Match award for his spell of 1/20 against 1/20 against LSG. In the same game, right arm medium pacer Rasikh Salam picked 4 wickets.
DC have endeared a stop-start season. Axar Patel's side have lost two games and clinched victories in as many. The 2020 finalists began the season with victories over LSG and MI but then succumbed to defeats against Gujarat Titans and CSK. The four matches have shown Form of Sameer Rizvi has been a bright spot in Delhi's campaign thus far.
The youngster began his season with back-to-back half-centuries. The team boasts of match winners like Lungi Ngidi, KL Rahul, Tristian Stubbs, David Miller and Kuldeep Yadav. If Delhi wants to avoid falling behind this season, then these players have to collectively have a good outing against RCB.
Weather, Pitch
The India Meteorological Department has predicted partly cloudy sky in the city for Saturday. The maximum temperature is going to be 37°C while the minimum temperature will be 23°C.
The pitches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium most of the times favour the batters. So expect a batting friendly track for this game.
Head to Head
- Matches Played: 33
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru wins: 20
- Delhi Capitals wins: 12
- No Result: 1
Players to Watch
- Rajat Patidar (RCB): Rajat Patidar is the team's most in-form player at the moment. Patidar has hit two half-centuries and both have been scored at strike rates of over 150. Patidar's form with the bat is giving the team's top order to have explosive starts. A lot of RCB's success this season hinges on Patidar's form.
- Tristian Stubbs (Delhi Capitals): Tristian Stubbs is a batter who can flip the script of a match in the space of few deliveries. The South African played a valiant knock of 60 in 38 balls in the losing cause against CSK. A big innings from Stubbs will help Delhi get to big scores.
Possible Playing XI
- RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt.), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rashik Salam, Josh Hazlewood
- DC: KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel (capt.), David Miller, Tristian Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Aquib Nabi, Kuldeep Yadav, Liungi Ngidi, T Natrajan
LIVE Telecast
All the IPL matches are being broadcast on the Star Sports channels
LIVE Stream
RCB v DC match can be streamed on the JioHotstar app.
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