Bengaluru : Delhi Capitals (DC) completed a thrilling run chase, achieving victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), with a sensational last-over finish led by David Miller, along with immense contributions from KL Rahul early on and Tristan Stubbs till the end, in the 26th match of the Indian Premier League 2026 season on Saturday, 18 April at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
The match began with DC won the toss and elected to bowl first. Virat Kohli and Phil Salt came out to open for RCB. After a good start, in the final over of the powerplay, Kohli was dismissed (c Pathum Nissanka b Lungi Ngidi) after scoring 19 off 13 balls. Devdutt Padikkal and Salt built a small partnership before Padikkal got out for 18 off 13 balls. Then Salt, after scoring a fluent 63 off 38 balls, was dismissed (c Stubbs b Kuldeep Yadav). The skipper Rajat Patidar came in but got out early to Mukesh Kumar for 8 off 4 balls. Tim David came up but got out quickly for 26 off 17 balls, dismissed by Axar Patel. The Delhi spin duo took major wickets at crucial moments, effectively ripping the momentum away from Bengaluru in the middle order and slowing down the scoring rate, which initially looked like it could go much higher. Axar Patel delivered a sensational spell with 2 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs (economy 6.00), along with Kuldeep Yadav, who also picked up 2 wickets for 32 in 4 overs. In the death overs, Ngidi and T Natarajan took wickets at crucial moments, helping to dismiss Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, and Romario Shepherd. With that, RCB ended up with 175/8 after 20 overs. In this match, RCB scored under 200 for the first time this season due to the fantastic bowling by DC.
The second innings started with quick falling wickets, as Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced an outstanding spell, taking three top-order wickets within the first 4 overs. He dismissed Nissanka for 1, while Karun Nair, who came as an impact player, scored 5 off 5 balls, and Sameer Rizvi scored 2 off 3 balls, creating massive pressure on DC at 18/3 in 2.5 overs. Under pressure, KL Rahul played a vital knock for DC, bringing the team back into the match. He tactically handled the pressure with a counter-attack against the bowlers, fluently scoring a brilliant half-century—57 off 34 balls at a strike rate of 167.65, including 6 fours and 2 sixes—before being dismissed by Krunal Pandya. Stubbs played another crucial role, continuing responsibly in the chase with an unbeaten 60 off 47 balls. After Rahul’s dismissal, the skipper came out and supported Stubbs well, scoring 26 off 19 balls before retiring hurt. David Miller then came in as his replacement. With that, the score became crucial at the end of the chase, with 18 runs needed off 6 balls. RCB came up with Romario Shepherd to bowl. David Miller, who had faced criticism after failing to finish the match against Gujarat Titans earlier in the league, showed great composure. Miller finished the match in just three balls with 6, 6, and then a 4 on the second-last ball, leaving 1 run needed off 2 balls. He remained unbeaten on 22 off 10 balls, sealing the win in spectacular fashion. Tristan Stubbs played a proper anchor role from the middle order in the final overs and eventually became the Player of the Match. With that, RCB lost their first home match of the season.
With this win, DC moved to 5th position on the table with 6 points, while RCB remained in 2nd position with 8 points. RCB will play their next match against Gujarat Titans on 24 April and DC will play their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 21 April.
