Delhi : Delhi Capitals (DC) will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 39th match of the IPL season 2026 on Monday, 27 April, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, as they look to recover from their last heartbreaking loss against PBKS.
DC and RCB will face off against each other this season for the second time. In their previous meeting, RCB lost a tight contest where DC secured a 6-wicket victory with 1 ball remaining, powered by a brilliant finishing knock from David Miller, defeating RCB at their home ground for the first time this season.
RCB currently hold the 2nd position on the table with 10 points and are continuing their great season. In both departments bowling and batting RCB have been performing exceptionally well. In their last match against GT, their bowlers successfully restricted a high score, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, and Josh Hazlewood. In batting, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, captain Rajat Patidar, and Phil Salt have all been excellent.
On the other side, DC currently hold the 7th position on the table with 6 points. In their last five matches, they have managed to win only one. In the previous match against PBKS, Delhi Capitals suffered a shocking defeat in which they scored 264 runs but still lost. Their batting has been strongly handled by KL Rahul, and in the last match Nitish Rana also contributed well. However, their bowling attack has become weak; in the absence of Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi has taken the lead in the pace department, but unfortunately, he picked up an injury in the last match. Although he is now well, he is most likely unavailable for today’s match, which creates a gap in the bowling lineup. Meanwhile, other bowlers, especially Kuldeep Yadav and captain Axar Patel, have been unable to take wickets at crucial moments, which is a major concern for the rest of the tournament.
In IPL history, the two teams have faced each other 34 times, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) holding a clear edge in the head-to-head record. RCB have won 20 matches, while Delhi Capitals (DC) have secured 13 victories, with one match ending in no result.
RCB Squad: Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Jordan Cox, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Bethell, Venkatesh Iyer, Swapnil Singh, Satvik Deswal, Mangesh Yedave, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanish Chohan, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Jacob Duffy, Nuwan Thushara, Abhinandan Singh.
RCB Probable XI: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma.
DC Squad: KL Rahul, Karun Nair, David Miller, Ben Duckett, Pathum Nissanka, Sahil Parakh, Prithvi Shaw, Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Ajay Mandal, Tripurana Vijay, Madhav Tiwari, Nitish Rana, Mitchell Starc, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Dushmantha Chameera, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Kyle Jamieson, Kuldeep Yadav.
DC Probable XI: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (C), Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T. Natarajan, Auqib Nabi.
The weather in Delhi is expected to be extremely hot during the day, with temperatures reaching around 44°C due to heatwave conditions, before cooling slightly in the evening to about 32°C and dropping further toward 28°C as the match progresses. The sky will likely remain hazy to partly cloudy with high cloud cover, but there is almost no chance of rain, so interruptions are not expected. Light winds will prevail, and while conditions will stay mostly dry, some dew may develop later in the night, which could favor teams batting second. Overall, the weather looks set for a full, uninterrupted game, with conditions likely to support batting and possibly result in a high-scoring contest. At Arun Jaitley Stadium, the pitch is expected to be typically batting-friendly with a flat surface and short boundaries, making it ideal for high scoring. The ball should come nicely onto the bat, especially in the first innings, allowing stroke play to dominate. However, as the game progresses, the pitch may slow down slightly, bringing spinners into play, particularly in the middle overs. Given the hot and dry conditions, the surface could become a bit worn, but the presence of dew later in the evening is likely to reduce grip for bowlers and make chasing easier. Overall, it’s a pitch that favors batters, with spinners having a role before dew sets in. This clash will be interesting to see whether RCB can take revenge for their earlier loss, or if DC can bounce back strongly in this match and revive their campaign in the tournament.
