New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul top-scored with a composed 56 off 42 balls as Delhi Capitals sealed a thrilling five-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Sunday. The win was built on Mitchell Starc’s devastating four-wicket burst in the death overs that had earlier pegged back a marauding RR to 193/8.

Rahul anchored the chase with his characteristic calmness, while sharing a key 105-run partnership with Abishek Porel, who hit 51 off 31 balls. Ashutosh Sharma then stepped in late as the impact player to steer DC home via an unbeaten five-ball 18, as it proved to be a tense, see-saw contest that swung repeatedly before the hosts finally held their nerve.

By completing the chase with four balls to spare, DC signed off from their home fixtures on a high, as they climbed from eighth to seventh place in the IPL 2026 standings and kept their slim playoff hopes alive. It was a contest that swung repeatedly – RR blazing to 160/2 before losing six wickets for 33 in the last six overs, DC cruising to 130/2 before their own wobble in the middle.

Eventually, the hosts finally held their nerve in a finish that had the Arun Jaitley crowd on the edge of their seats till the very last over. Starc had been profligate in his opening two overs, leaking 28 runs, but returned to rip through RR’s middle and lower order in his final two, conceding just 12 more while claiming all four wickets.

Slower balls, changed pace, varied angles – the Australian left-armer used every weapon in his armoury to trigger a collapse that left RR well short of the 220-plus total they had threatened. Before Starc’s squeeze, it was Riyan Parag who seized the moment when RR needed it most, walking in after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enthralled 31, 200 fans by hitting a blistering 21-ball 46.

After Sooryavanshi fell, Parag needed no time to settle in and was right on the money from the get-go. In the first 19 balls he faced, he hit five sixes and a four off Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar in a spell of clean, muscular hitting that left the DC bowling attack rattled. But before Parag took centre stage via his 51 and Dhurv Jurel smashed 53, it was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who set the tone.

The teenage opener began by pulling Ngidi over deep square-leg for a six. From the other end, Yashasvi Jaiswal got off to a flying start by hitting Mitchell Starc for three boundaries in the opening over, with a crisp cover drive being the standout stroke.

Though Jaiswal eventually fell to Ngidi – a sharp outside edge off a slower ball pouched by the tall Starc at short third man, Sooryavanshi cut loose by edging and pulling him for a four and six, before carting debutant off-spin bowling all-rounder Tripurana Vijay for back-to-back fours through cover region and swivelling him for another maximum.

It also helped RR that DC were sloppy in catching – Dhruv Jurel was given an early reprieve by KL Rahul, while Sameer Rizvi dropped a chance of Sooryavanshi at long-on. When Parag was on six, a short ball looped to Tristan Stubbs at long-on, who appeared to complete the catch running to his left. But replays showed his fingers were not beneath the ball as it grazed the ground, giving Parag a lucky reprieve.

Jurel found his boundary-hitting rhythm by clobbering an erratic Mukesh Kumar for two fours and a six in the last over of power-play, as 17 runs came off it. Madhav Tiwari’s introduction worked wonders for DC as Sooryavanshi couldn’t pick the slower ball and was caught by diving long-on. At 92/2 in eight overs, Parag made his intentions clear to go after the DC bowlers.

He hit Axar over midwicket and then launched him way beyond long-on to pick a brace of sixes. In the next over, he went berserk against Mukesh – a pull over deep mid-wicket was followed by an uppish smash over extra cover for four, before using his strong forearms to pummel the pacer over long-on for consecutive maximums.

After Jurel hit Tiwari for two fours to bring up RR’s 150 in 13 overs, Parah brought up his fifty off 23 balls and got a bear hug from Jurel. But after that, DC clawed back in the 15th over – Starc first deceived Parag with a slower ball and the batter only managed a toe‑end to diving long-on.

Starc struck again when Donovan Ferreira mistimed a heave to long-on and fell for a golden duck, before debutant Ravi Singh was trapped plumb lbw with a slower delivery, as RR burnt a review.

RR’s horrible wobble continued – Tiwari had Shubham Dubey mistiming a heave to deep backward square leg, while Starc forced Impact Player Dasun Shanaka to slice to long-off, and Jurel, after reaching his fourth fifty of the season, was trapped lbw by a slower ball from Ngidi, as DC applied the choke on RR.

Chasing 194, Rahul had not even settled at the crease when fortune intervened, as Yash Raj Punja dropped him at short fine leg off Jofra Archer, apart from an overthrow giving DC four extra runs. Keeping all that aside, Rahul and Porel set about dismantling the RR bowling attack with a combination of audacity and intent, as DC reached fifty in just four overs.

Porel, the aggressor from the outset, drove and whipped Archer for a four and six, before ramping, cutting, pulling, and punching Brijesh Sharma for four boundaries. Rahul, meanwhile, was doing what he does best – rotating strike and hitting boundaries off loose balls with surgical precision. When Adam Milne dropped short in the fifth over, he rocked back and smoked a pull flat over deep mid-wicket for six.

The hundred of the opening pair – DC’s second 100-plus opening stand of IPL 2026 and both coming versus RR – arrived in the ninth over when Rahul pumped Punja straight over the sight screen for six. Porel brought up his fifty off 30 balls before holing out to long-on off a slower ball from Brijesh in the 11th over, even as an unperturbed Rahul reached his fifty in the 12th over off 34 balls.

RR’s move to bring back Archer for his third over worked well when he drew a rash drive from Sahil Parakh, and a thick outside edge was comfortably caught by Dhruv Jurel. Dasun Shanaka dealt a huge blow to DC when Rahul attempted to punch off his slower delivery, but chopped on to his stumps without any footwork.

The pressure of asking rate going past ten brought out sloppy misfields from RR, but it consumed Tristan Stubbs, who shaped for a pre-mediated scoop, but was caught by a sprinting deep backward square leg. But some respite came for DC – Axar Patel sliced Archer for four, followed by him and David Miller lofting Donovan Ferreira for a six each.

With 19 runs needed off 12 balls, a twist came when Miller pulled to deep mid-wicket off a slower ball from Brijesh. But with ones and twos coming in, including a wide, Ashutosh diffused tension by heaving Brijesh for six, before RR missed a run-out chance.

With seven runs needed off the final over, RR were charged with an over-rate penalty, and as they were allowed only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle, Ashutosh drove Milne down the ground for four, before pulling over deep mid-wicket for six to seal the chase in style for DC.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan Royals 193/8 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 53, Riyan Parag 51; Mitchell Starc 4-40, Lungi Ngidi 2-24) lost to Delhi Capitals 197/5 in 19.2 overs (KL Rahul 56, Abishek Porel 51; Jofra Archer 2-35, Brijesh Sharma 2-44) by five wickets

–IANS

nr/bsk/