Did Delhi Capitals' Epic Collapse Against Royal Challengers Bengaluru 'Save' IPL 2026?

Six Delhi Capitals batters were back in the hut inside four overs after the side were put in to bat first by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a fascinating Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. The DC collapse began almost instantly, with debutant Sahil Parakh being castled by a Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripper for a 2-ball duck.

It was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a show of glorious pace bowling. Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar worked in tandem to dismiss Parakh (off 2), KL Rahul (1 off 3), Nitish Rana (1 off 9), Sameer Rizvi (0 off 1), Tristan Stubbs (5 off 3), and DC captain Axar Patel (0 off 3). Such was the havoc created by the RCB pacers that neither could complete their designated four overs each.

3-0-5-3 read Bhuvneshwar’s bowling spell as he delivered at an outrageous economy of 1.67. As for the Aussie bowler, Hazlewood, his spell of 3.3-0-12-4 earned him the Player of the Match award.

Delhi were bundled out for just 75. The home team, DC, also managed to secure an unflattering record: 13/6 in 6 overs. This was the lowest score in powerplay in IPL’s illustrious history. The crowd stood stunned, and the Axar Patel team looked clueless.

(JioHotstar)

But the fans, the fans, even if a few, were somehow relieved. Why?

Punjab Kings Chase Down 265

Only a few days ago, Punjab Kings chased down Delhi Capitals’ daunting target of 265. Punjab openers Prabhsimran Singh (76) and Priyansh Arya (43) went berserk as they took the DC bowlers to the cleaners. The opening duo plundered 126 runs in just 42 balls, setting up the perfect foundation for the PBKS run chase. Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer was given two lifelines in the form of dropped catches by Karun Nair. Iyer used the opportunities to remain unbeaten on 71 off 36 deliveries, helping his side chase down 265 with as many as seven balls to spare in the national capital.

This was momentous for cricket. The sport and the format had come a long way. In fact, PBKS entered the T20 record books by registering the biggest run chase in the history of the short format, not just in IPL.

Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad

The same day (25 April), we saw another high-scoring contest. It was the Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Jaipur. Asked to bat first, 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played another blinder for his franchise on top. The young phenomenon brought up a sensational century in just 36 deliveries to help his side post 228/6 in 20 overs.

Even this score was not too much for SRH batters as fifties from Ishan Kishan (74 off 31) and Abhishek Sharma (57 off 29) saw Hyderabad achieve the winning score with 9 balls to spare.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Dropped On 0 And Made Huge Impact? We Have Seen This Before In IPL

200 Not Enough

At the time of writing, the 200-score has been breached 31 times already in IPL 2026, with the slated grand finale still over a month away on 31 May. Once considered a formidable score, breaching a 200+ score has become commonplace, with a substantial uptick witnessed in the previous seasons of IPL. A 200+ score was secured as many as 52 times in IPL 2025, 41 times in 2024, and 37 times in IPL 2023.

There was a significant social media outrage when the Gujarat Titans, batting first, were criticised for failing to achieve a towering score despite losing only 3 wickets in their 20 overs. A sizeable number of IPL viewers took to X (formerly Twitter) to lambast Gujarat Titans’ openers Gill and Sai Sudharsan for scoring “only” 128 in 12.4 overs. GT eventually failed to defend their score of 205/3. When GT lost Jos Buttler (25 off 16), the side batting first had 14 deliveries remaining at 177/3. They scored 205/3 in 20 overs.

“Just can’t stop laughing at Gujarat Titans’ batting lineup apart from their top 3 players. Bottling an easy 220+, they don’t even have one proper ball striker in that lineup,” noted a viewer on X.

The Bat vs Bowl Debate

DC batters bowing down to RCB pacers on Monday perhaps gave viewers a much-needed breather from the relentless high-scoring games that have caused significant fatigue among a section of fans online. Many believe IPL pitches offer little to bowlers and that the league has become increasingly tilted in favour of batters. A rare collapse like this brought the spotlight back to the bowlers who have largely toiled in the shadows while batters hogged the glory.