Delhi Capitals (DC) kept their slim hopes of making the playoffs alive by beating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by five wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Chasing 194, they were led by half-centuries from Abhishek Porel and KL Rahul. While they slowed down in the middle overs, Axar Patel and Ashutosh Sharma took them home with four balls to spare.

Earlier, after DC opted to bowl, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 21-ball 46 and Riyan Parag’s 26-ball 51 took RR to 160 for 2 in 14 overs. They must have eyed at least 220 at that stage, but Mitchell Starc’s  three wickets in the 15th over derailed them. As a result, they could score only 33 in the last six overs and finished on 193 for 8. For DC, Starc picked up 4 for 40, Lungi Ngidi 2 for 24 and Madhav Tiwari 2 for 27.

Yashasvi Jaiswal got RR going by hitting Starc for three fours in the opening over. From the other end, Sooryavanshi opened his account with a first-ball six off Ngidi. Ngidi did bounce back by having Jaiswal caught at short third with a slower ball, but there was no stopping Sooryavanshi. Living dangerously, he hit debutant offspinner T Vijay for three fours and a six in the fifth over. Dhruv Jurel joined the festivities by hitting Mukesh Kumar for 4, 6, 4 off successive balls in the sixth over as RR ended the powerplay on 75 for 1.

Sooryavanshi was eventually caught at long-on off Tiwari but Parag ensured the momentum wasn’t lost. After hitting Axar for two sixes in three balls, he went 6, 4, 6, 6 against Mukesh in a 23-run 12th over, after which RR were 140 for 2. Soon after, Parag reached his ninth IPL fifty. Coming off just 23 balls, it was his fastest.

In search of wickets, Axar returned to Starc for the 15th over, and the seamer didn’t disappoint his captain. With a slower ball, he had Parag caught at long-on. Donovan Ferreira lasted just one ball, also getting caught at long-on. Ravi Singh flicked the hat-trick ball, a full toss for four, but Starc had him lbw off the next ball. It was once again a slower ball. Ravi was way too early into the shot, and even the DRS couldn’t save him.

When Tiwari dismissed Shubham Dubey in the 17th over, RR decided to bring in Dasun Shanaka as their Impact Player. Starc removed him as well with the penultimate ball of his spell. It was a low full toss from around the wicket. Shanaka tried to go big but was caught at long-off. Despite Jurel scoring 53 off 40, RR fell seven short of 200.

Jofra Archer could have had another first-over wicket when Rahul, yet to open his account, flicked him to short fine leg. But Yash Raj Punja dropped an easy catch. After that, Rahul and Porel picked up regular boundaries, with Porel leading the way. The pair took the side to 72 for no loss after six overs. This was DC’s best powerplay of the season, bettering their 70 for no loss in the reverse fixture.

DC were 85 for no loss after seven overs. The next seven overs, though, brought only 45 runs. Punja triggered the slowdown with a four-run over. It was also the first boundary-less over of the innings.

Porel brought up his fifty off 29 balls but fell soon after. Trying to take on Brijesh Sharma, he was caught at long-on. Rahul had the same fate. He chopped Shanaka onto his stumps for 56 off 42 balls. Punja conceded only 29 from his four but Axar kept DC in the hunt with a boundary here and there. After 14 overs, they were 130 for 2, needing 64 from the remaining six.

Archer pegged DC back in the 17th over, conceding only eight and dismissing Tristan Stubbs. It left them needing 35 from three overs. With two left-hand batters – Axar and David Miller – in the middle, Parag went with Ferreira’s offspin over Shanaka’s military medium. The move backfired as Axar and Miller hit a six each in a 16-run over. Brijesh gave RR some hope by removing Miller with the first ball of the 19th but Ashutosh heaved the second ball he faced over deep midwicket for a six. With seven needed from the final over, Ashutosh hit a four and a six to finish the game.

Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 197 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Abhishek Porel 51, KL Rahul 56,  Axar Patel 34*, Ashutosh Sharma 18*; Jofra Archer 2-35, Brijesh Sharma 2-44, Dasun Shanaka 1-29) beat Rajasthan Royals 193 for 8 in 20 overs  (Yashasvi Jaiswal 12,  Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 46, Dhruv Jurel 53, Riyan Parag 51,  Dasun Shanaka 10; Mitchell Starc 4-40, Lungi Ngidi 2-24, Madhav Tiwari 2-27) by five wickets

[Cricinfo]

For the longest time, Punjab Kings seemed to be a lock in for the playoffs, possibly even a top-two spot. Then they slipped, and stumbled and continued to slide to reach a position where their playoffs spot is in serious doubt. On Sunday, PBKS lost their sixth game in a row, going down to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 23 runs in another run-fest in Dharamsala. The result helped RCB become the first team to make the IPL 2026 playoffs, but also left PBKS in a precarious position with just one game remaining. The curse of the second half, if there ever was.

It was a game RCB dominated pretty much from top to bottom. RCB muscled their way to 222 for 4 on the back of a rollicking half-century from their No. 4. No, not Rajat Patidar. He missed the game and Venkatesh Iyer, who has largely been an Impact Player this season, got a promotion. Batting in the top order for the first time in IPL 2026, Venkatesh showed his class, smashing an unbeaten 73 off 40, while Virat Kohli (57 off 37) and Devdutt Padikkal (45 off 25) also played their part in RCB’s tall score.

PBKS’ chase got off to the worst possible start with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rasikh Salam reducing them to 19 for 3 inside four overs. Suryansh Shedge and Marcus Stoinis counterattacked but the required rate continued to surge. Shashank Singh smashed 56 off 27 balls but his innings came too late in the game. With PBKS needing 40 off the last two overs, 19th and Rasikh picked up two wickets in the 20th as PBKS were kept to 199 for 8.

Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar struck with his second ball, but that was the only wicket PBKS managed in a powerplay dominated by RCB. Jacob Bethell’s patchy form with the bat continued as he inside-edged Brar and lost his off bail. But Devdutt Padikkal was at his aggressive best. He lifted Brar first ball over the long-off fence for six before nudging Lockie Ferguson through fine leg.

Kohli, at the other end, was fluent as well. He hit Azmatullah Omarzai for six over extra cover, albeit not off the middle of the bat, before welcoming Ferguson into the bowling crease with a trademark flick of the wrists over deep midwicket. Arshdeep was also scythed over square leg with RCB ending the powerplay on 61 for 1.

Kohli reached 500 runs in an IPL season for a record ninth time and soon notched up another half-century, his fourth of IPL 2026, along with a century. It wasn’t the most fluent Kohli innings but he still struck at 156.75, with four fours and three sixes adding 76 off 42 balls for the second wicket with Padikkal, who was in sublime form again. He hit Yuzvendra Chahal for two sixes in the seventh over and then attacked Omarzai before falling to Brar. Kohli brought out his trademark flick if the wrists to send Shashank over cow corner but fell soon after reaching fifty flicking Chahal to deep midwicket.

Venkatesh has had limited chances this season. Twice he has come in as an Impact Player and in the one game he was in the starting XI, he didn’t bat. He looked out of sorts initially, was on 9 off 10 but one misfield from Arshdeep Singh at mid-off and his innings took flight. He hit Brar for back-to-back fours and then took Chahal for two sixes.

With RCB on 157 for 3, Venkatesh hit top gear. He scooped Omarzai twice in two balls, and then took on Ferguson for 6, 4, 0, 6 to reach his fifty off just 29 balls. This was Venkatesh’s first fifty for RCB and helped RCB go past the 200 mark – the ninth time that PBKS conceded a 200-plus total this season. Tim David didn’t hang back in the death, finishing on 28 off 12 as RCB put up an above-par score.

To chase down RCB’s 222, a Prabharya special was required. But the duo lasted a combined eight balls. To make matters worse, Shreyas Iyer fell for just 1 with PBKS’ chase falling apart even before properly beginning. Bhuvneshwar sent back Priyansh Arya with a hard length ball that was swiped to mid-on in the first over. He then had Prabhsimran Singh toe-edging to first slip before a lovely Rasikh outswinger accounted for Shreyas Iyer. At 19 for 3 in 3.2 overs, PBKS, to put it mildly, were in a hole.

Cooper Connolly and Shedge counterattacked and succeeded to an extent. Josh Hazlewood was taken for 26 off his first two overs, while Rasikh went for 11 off his second but PBKS only managed 49 for 3 in their powerplay with the required rate ballooning to 12.42.

Shashank and Omarzai delayed the inevitable but both fell in the last over as PBKS failed to even reach 200. Ricky Ponting’s forlorn look sitting alone in the dugout after the game had a story to tell. PBKS were on 13 points after seven games. Thirteen games into the season, they are still on 13.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Jacob Bethell 11, Virat Kohli 58, Devudutt  Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73*,  Tim David 28; Arshdeep Singh 1-43, Harpreet  Brar 2-35, Yuzvendra Chahal 1-42) beat Punjab Kings 199 for 8 in 20 overs  (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56,  Azmatullah Omarzai 14; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-38, Josh Hazelwood 1-36,   Rasikh Salam 3-36, Suyash Sharma 1-50, Romario Shepherd 1-08) by 23 runs

[Cricinfo]

Fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana lasted just eight balls on his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2026, leaving the field after some discomfort to his hamstring during the second innings against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Kolkata.

The slinger from Sri Lanka came in as an Impact Player during KKR’s bowling innings and was introduced in the fourth over. He conceded seven runs in his opening over.

But during his second over, Pathirana suggested discomfort near his hamstring region after delivering the first delivery, and went on the floor. He required treatment from the team physio and attempted another delivery, but it was a half-hearted one, holding himself back from going at full tilt. After a conversation with KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, Pathirana left the field, two balls into his second over.

Pathirana’s participation in IPL 2026 was a much-awaited one at KKR, bought for INR 18 crore (approx US$ 1.875 million), but one that was delayed owing to his fitness issues. At the 2026 T20 World Cup, Pathirana left Sri Lanka’s game against Australia midway through a spell and eventually missed the whole tournament.

Then, when it came to his IPL participation, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) required Pathirana to pass fitness tests on his calf injury before giving him a no-objection certificate (NOC). The certificate was issued to Pathirana only four games into KKR’s IPL campaign, during a time the franchise lost all their games.

He was on the bench right up until KKR’s 12th game of the season, on Saturday evening against GT, but his stay lasted less than 30 minutes.

[Cricinfo]