Delhi : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered a terrifically dominant victory by 9 wickets (with 81 balls remaining) over Delhi Capitals (DC), as showcased by the RCB pacers’ ruthless and clinical bowling attack, which completely dismantled the DC batting order—brilliantly led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood—in the 39th match of the IPL 2026 season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Monday, 27 April.
DC came up against RCB with a few changes in the playing XI, with Kyle Jamieson replacing Mukesh Kumar. 18-year-old Sahil Parakh made his IPL debut, replacing Pathum Nissanka as the opener. Dushmantha Chameera replaced the injured Lungi Ngidi, while RCB continued with their same playing XI.
The match began with RCB winning the toss and electing to bowl first. DC’s batting suffered right from the very beginning. Bhuvneshwar Kumar came in with the new ball, and debutant Sahil Parakh was bowled for a second-ball duck of the over by him, setting the tone early with a sharp breakthrough. In the next over, Josh Hazlewood dismissed KL Rahul for 1 and Rizvi for a duck in back-to-back deliveries. Then, in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s second over (the third over of the innings), he dismissed Tristan Stubbs for 5 runs off 3 balls, courtesy of a brilliant catch by Devdutt Padikkal, followed by the captain Axar Patel for a duck. Nitish Rana was once again dismissed by Josh Hazlewood. With this, DC registered the lowest powerplay score of 13/6 in IPL history, as the RCB pacers completely and ruthlessly destroyed their batting order. Abhishek Porel came in as an impact player and, along with Miller, tried to rebuild and recover the innings. Porel scored 30 off 33 balls, while Miller made 19 off 18. However, the relentless and disciplined bowling by RCB ensured no comeback, as Hazlewood eventually ended the innings by bowling Abhishek. DC were finally bowled out for 75 in 16.3 overs.
Josh Hazlewood became the Player of the Match with extraordinary figures of 4 wickets for 12 runs in 3.3 overs, at an economy rate of 3.43. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also delivered an astonishing performance, taking 3 wickets for 5 runs in his 3 overs, with a stunning economy rate of 1.67, and became the current Purple Cap holder. His sensational spell marked his 20th three-wicket haul in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar took his tally to 14 wickets from eight matches, making him only the second pacer after Jasprit Bumrah to achieve this milestone.
Chasing 76, openers Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli came out to bat. Bethell got out early after scoring 20 off 11 balls, dismissed by Kyle Jamieson with an excellent catch by T. Natarajan. Devdutt Padikkal then came in and delivered an explosive 34 off 13 deliveries, remaining unbeaten and finishing the chase quickly. Virat Kohli composedly scored 23 off 15 balls and stayed unbeaten. During this innings, Kohli became the first batter in Indian Premier League (IPL) history to complete 9,000 runs. He is already the leading run-scorer in the tournament’s history and has now become the first player to reach this landmark. Kohli ended the chase with two back-to-back sixes. Chasing a modest 76, RCB reached the target in just 6.3 overs, finishing at 77 for 1 with 81 balls to spare. This clinical finish not only marked the second-fastest victory in the tournament’s history but also stands as one of the largest wins ever recorded in terms of balls remaining.
With this win, RCB holds the 2nd position with 12 points, while DC slipped to 7th position with 6 points. RCB will play their next match against GT on 30 April, and DC will face RR on 1 May. After this devastating defeat, DC will look to recover for the rest of the tournament.
