Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, 62nd Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryDC vs RR, 62nd Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

Delhi Capitals keep their teeny-tiny hopes of making it to the playoffs alive. They are one of the three teams currently on 12 points although they've played one extra game. Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, have now lost three in a row. Their remaining fixtures are against teams that are already out of the race (LSG and MI). Earlier in the day, RCB became the first team to progress to the playoffs. Eight group stage matches remain and seven teams are vying for the other three spots. That's it for today. Tune in tomorrow for another important fixture - Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad. If SRH beat CSK, GT and SRH will be through to the playoffs. On that note, good night and goodbye.

Starc | 2/2: (does he reflect back after taking wickets?) "Yeah, I think, I guess that's the beauty of T20, things happen really, games come around so quickly, you can't really dwell if things haven't gone the way you wanted to, and likewise, you can't really get too high if things have gone fantastic. So I think that's the key, staying pretty level. And as bowlers, you've got to put the ego aside a lot of the time because the scores can be a bit inflated. But yeah, as I said, it's a good one to finish on tonight for the group and then certainly for our side of the home fixtures as well. (on the bowling talent in the DC side) Yeah, there's plenty of talent there, obviously. You know, we've got some good experience there with, obviously, the overseas and then a lot of the local guys have played, all been around the IPL for a number of years. Likewise, we've seen some young talent come through, not only our group, but certainly through the IPL every year, and this year's no different. So yeah, I think it's only a positive seeing those young guys come and perform on at this stage and play against some international guys that have played a lot of cricket. So yeah, it's no different and I'm sure it will continue that way through this season as well."

Mitchell Starc | Player of the Match 1/2: "Yeah, thanks. It's a bit of an interesting one, I guess. Probably had different wickets throughout the time we played here in Delhi. So, yeah, I thought we probably didn't bowl too bad in the powerplay, but they got away to a good start and then we adjusted really well. And I think the rest of the bowling innings, we brought it back pretty well towards the end there. And then a total we thought we could chase down and with a little hiccup here or there, it was a very good start for us. And KL's been doing that all season for us, which is fantastic. And then to get the two points and finish off our home side of the draw with a win is always nice. (on adjusting to the conditions) Yeah, I mean, that's the key, isn't it? Adjusting as quick as you can and quicker than the other team, particularly here where the boundaries aren't that big and there's not too much on offer. There's probably... A little bit of reverse swing at the end there and obviously the changes of pace and the slower balls. I think Lungi bowled fantastic as well. They were the changes we had to make after the powerplay. And as I said, we didn't bowl too bad in the powerplay, but as it can do with the hard ball and two fielders out, it can fly around a little bit. So I thought, I thought we adjusted really well after the powerplay and a total we thought we could defend.

Axar | 2/2: (on the comeback with the ball) Throughout the season, in many matches, we’ve made strong comebacks. Even when runs were scored in the powerplay, once the field spread out, we bowled really well in the middle overs and came back into the game. So even when runs are scored in the first six overs, during the strategic timeout we always talk about how the game is just starting and we can come back anytime. Then those three wickets in one over happened, and after that, I think the last six overs after the 14th over were bowled with great class. And obviously, the youngster changed the momentum. So yes, I’m very happy with the bowling unit too, because they never gave up. Even though runs were being scored, they came back and corrected their plans. (on his chats to Starc) No, at that time we were mainly discussing what field we could set for the new batsman coming in. Of course I was congratulating him, but after that I was talking to him about what would be difficult for the new batsman there, what he was thinking, and what kind of ball he planned to bowl, so that we could set the field accordingly. That’s what we were discussing. (next time be close to Starc so that it's easier to talk) No, I think it actually helped. I went far away and the catch came there, so I think it was good that I went there at that moment. So yes, very happy.

Axar Patel | DC captain (translated from Hindi) 1/2: Winning at home always feels great, and after losing continuously for so long, when you finally win, it feels even more special. And since this was the last home match of the season, I think it’s very special. It makes you happy when you win at home because the fans come to support you, and winning after that support brings a lot of joy. (what areas did you think you did better tonight?) I think one thing improved. Even when we were losing, I kept saying that wickets were falling in clusters. That was the issue. Today, if you look at it, when you get a long opening partnership, the batsmen coming later can finish the game well. So I think what was happening in those matches we lost was that wickets were falling in clusters. Today it looked better because whenever a wicket fell, there was another partnership afterward, and we were able to finish the game.

RR in IPL 2026
First 4 Matches – 4 wins, 0 losses
Last 8 Matches – 2 wins, 6 losses

Axar Patel in IPL 2026
First 8 games: 44 runs, Avg: 6.28, SR: 74.57
Last 2 games: 90 runs off 48 balls, SR: 187.5

- DC won the last four head-to-head contests against RR and also won the last five H2H at Delhi (including one in a Super over).

Most consecutive defeats for DC in Delhi
9 - between (2013-15)
5 - in 2026 — ended today
4 - between (2010-11)
4 - between (2012-13)

KL Rahul | 2/2: (on Porel) "Yeah, he's... the opportunities that he's gotten, he's shown everyone what he can do. Again someone who plays proper cricket shots and trying to understand the T20 game and try and, up his strike-rate, try and use that powerplay. I think we batted beautifully last season as well, but the feedback to him was that they wanted him to up that strike-rate and unfortunately, he didn't get too many chances in the beginning of the season, which is really frustrating, I could see, but he's been someone who's, been open to again experimenting. He's been talking to me, he's been talking to the coaches, and he's been working hard on his game and trying to improve that part of his batting. And yeah now that he's gotten the opportunity, I think an innings like this will give him confidence and end of the day, T20 is about confidence and belief that even with cricket shots and even with the skills that you have, you can go out there and score at 170, 200 strike-rate. And once you do that a couple of times, then you sort of, get a bit more relaxed and then start focusing on bat and ball. But for someone who's trying to achieve a higher strike-rate there's always, I feel like there's extra pressure, extra burden, but yeah, he's handled that beautifully and really happy that he could do that for the team today and the way he batted was exceptional."

KL Rahul | 1/2: "Yeah, but this one feels a little bit more special because, I've been scoring 500 runs every season, but I set out to achieve something else, which is to up my strike-rate and try and keep up with the modern T20 demand. So, yeah, I'm quite pleased that I could do that. But yeah, if we had a few more wins, that would have been even more special. And yeah, I think we still have an outside chance. So we're hoping that we can get a win next game and some of the other teams can help us out. (on his improved strike-rate) Yeah, I mean, it's been a journey. I mean, I haven't still... I don't think I still have cracked it completely, this game and playing sport is all about trial and error and being open to experimenting, being open to being uncomfortable, doing uncomfortable things. And yeah, so I've always tried to do that and try and adapt to the demands of the game and try and do what the team asks of me. This time there was a very clear message from the coach and the captain when we had a chat before the season that, they wanted me to play at a certain strike-rate and dominate the powerplay and dominate the bowling. So that's how I, tried to model my game around that and try and do that for the team. I did that and today again, I mean, we had a batters meeting a couple of days ago and the wicket here that we played in the last two or three games have been a bit tricky. So they expected somebody in the top three to bat deep. So I had to take on that role today and luckily for me, Abishek Porel batted beautifully, took the game on from the beginning so I could take some time and try and... try and build an innings and try and be there as long as possible and keep the dressing room calm.

Riyan Parag | RR captain: (where did you lose it?) "Pretty much everything, actually. We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. After I got out, we didn't capitalise on that. It was... It had to be 220-230, something like that. And as far as the bowling is concerned, I think we were just weren't there. We weren't up to the mark. Ferreira wasn't a gamble. I know on TV it looks like a gamble, but then you've got two left-handers. I'd rather bowl Donovan, take a chance, than get Shanaka to bowl another over. Didn't really work out. (on the fielding) Very poor. I feel if you want to win a trophy, if you want to be contending every single year, you've got to be better than what we've done today. Extremely disappointed. I feel we are a way better team than what we've played or shown in the last 4-5 games. But today was just, I feel... After coming from a break, I feel what we've shown today, energy-wise, skill-wise, execution-wise, is definitely not up to the mark. And if we keep on playing like this, we shouldn't be in contention for the top 4. (still in contention if you win your last two games) Yeah, I think that's depending on a lot of other teams as well. That is not how I like to lead. That is not how I like to speak to my team as well. That, oh, we need these guys to keep on losing so we can win two games. We've had the opportunity, we've not taken it. So if we do not qualify, it's our fault. No-one else's. And yeah, next two games, we'll see what we can do better and hopefully get two wins."

23:33 Local Time, 18:03 GMT: The hosts prevail in this close encounter. Abishek Porel and KL Rahul got their team off to a fine start. 72 runs in the powerplay and Delhi Capitals were 105/0 at the end of the 10th over. The run-chase looked like a cakewalk. But the Royals fought back. Porel fell to Brijesh immediately after his fifty and DC's scoring rate dipped. Jofra Archer, who was expensive in his first two overs, bowled rapidly to finish with two wickets. In between those two scalps, Shanaka accounted for Rahul. With 35 needed off the last 3 overs, the game was on a knife's edge. That's when Parag gave the ball to Donovan Ferreira with two left-handers out in the middle. Miller and Axar hit one six apiece and Ferreira ended up conceding 16 runs off that over. Brijesh removed Miller in 19th over to make things interesting but in walked the Impact Player - Ashutosh Sharma - to wrap up the proceedings in style with his unbeaten 18 off just 5 deliveries. In the first innings, RR were in a fantastic position at 160/2 after 14 overs. But they dramatically stuttered in the last six overs where they scored just 33 runs and lost 6 wickets.

Equation: 7 runs | 1 over. Milne to bowl it. RR have a fielding penalty. Just 4 fielders outside the 30-yard circle