Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured victory in one of the most one-sided contests in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL), when they defeated the Delhi Capitals (DC) by nine wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday, April 27.
Winning the toss and bowling first, RCB bundled the entire DClineup to just 75 in less than 17 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood put the brakes on the scoring, taking six wickets in the powerplay and conceding just nine runs, before the spinners
finished off the job.
Rajat Patidar’s side had no trouble chasing down the total, doing so in less than seven overs. Jacob Bethell scored a quick-fire 20 off 11 balls before Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli finished the task at hand by hitting a plethora of sixes to amaze the away fans.
Talking points:
1. DC get entangled in the Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood storm
The Capitals had no real answer to the storm brewed by RCB’s new ball attack, comprising Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. Their onslaught in the powerplay restricted DC to 9 for 6 after four overs. Bhuvneshwar started the collapse, uprooting Sahil Parakh’s middle stump on the second ball, with Hazlewood soon joining the party with two wickets in his first over.
2. Virat Kohli - the bona fide IPL legend
Virat Kohli continues to scale new heights in the IPL. Playing in his 19th consecutive season, the right-handed batter became the first player in the history of the tournament to surpass 9,000 runs. He has been one of RCB’s best batters again this season, scoring 351 runs at a strike-rate of 162.50 whilst averaging almost 60.
3. The roller coaster that is the Delhi Capitals
DC have had two games where they have shown complete contrast in their batting performance. Yes, they have lost both of their last two matches, against the Punjab Kings and today against RCB, but the manner in which they have lost is baffling.
On one hand, the Capitals possess a batting capable of scoring 264 in the first innings, while on the other hand, that same lineup is bundled out for just 75 a few days later. Axar Patel’s side have been highly inconsistent all season long. As things stand, they are only one of two sides to have defeated RCB this season, but are also currently on a three-match losing streak and find themselves seventh in the standings with six points.
Who said what:
Axar Patel, Delhi Capitals captain:
“Even I don't know what happened. That's why they say you have to be on your toes in cricket. We have to move on from this match. From today's point of view you can say it did effect, but you can look back, if the catches were taken or had we taken the single against GT, then momentum would have been with us. The game is such that there is no room for ifs and buts. You have to be positive, you had a bad day and take the positives from the last 5-6 games. I wasn't surprised, they are world class bowlers, they swing it every ground, but if our openers or top order had played them out then the result might have been different.”
Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain:
“Absolutely. Even I am surprised the way wicket played. All credit goes to the bowlers, Bhuvi and Hazlewood. They hit the right areas. The swing was normal but the good thing was we got early wickets and that kept us in the driving seat. The way Suyash bowled, stump to stump, it was really good to see. It is very important to follow your routines, we are taking it one game at a time. Different players are coming up and doing well. In T20 cricket, on flat pitches you need the bowling, because bowlers only can win you tournaments.”
Josh Hazlewood, Player of the Match:
“Probably turning up after 500+ runs, you don't expect that. I just followed Bhuvi. There was a little bit there in the first six overs. It was a little bit up and down. Once the ball got soft it became consistent. You want the batter to hit down the V, but I thought there was something in the wicket in that area, then I thought to hit the pitch, it was nice to see the ball hit higher part of the bat. It would have been nice to bowl four overs and get off the field (laughs). But we are ticking every boxes. We summed up conditions nicely in the away games last year, we are hitting our straps now in the right time of the tournament.”
