A spirited Rajasthan Royals side suffered a five-wicket loss against hosts Delhi Capitals in its 12th match of the IPL 2026 season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
After being asked to bat first, the Rajasthan Royals posted 193/8 in their 20 overs.
Riyan Parag, returning to the team after missing the previous match against the Gujarat Titans due to injury, scored a blistering 51 off 26 balls, while Dhruv Jurel top-scored for RR with 53 from 40 deliveries.
Jurel also became the latest Rajasthan Royals batter to complete 1000 runs in the Indian Premier League, with all of those runs coming for the franchise.
Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued his remarkable run with 46 off just 21 balls at the top of the order.
During his entertaining knock, Sooryavanshi broke the IPL record for most sixes by an Indian in a single edition, going past Abhishek Sharma’s tally of 42 maximums from the 2024 season.
In the bowling department, Jofra Archer led the way for Rajasthan Royals with 2/35 from four overs.
Delhi Capitals, who were 105/0 in 10 overs at one stage, had to eventually work hard to chase down the target in 19.2 overs.
Despite the defeat, Rajasthan Royals stay fifth in the IPL 2026 points table with six wins from 12 matches, leaving their remaining away fixtures against Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians crucial in the race for IPL 2026 playoffs.
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The first innings saw Sooryavanshi launch a fearless assault on the Delhi Capitals upfront. The teenager smashed five fours and three sixes to help RR race to 75/1 at the end of the powerplay.
Together with Dhruv Jurel, Sooryavanshi added 70 runs for the second wicket to keep the momentum firmly with the Rajasthan Royals.
After the youngster departed, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag took over.
The RR captain tore into the DC bowlers, hammering three fours and five sixes. He reached his fifty in just 23 deliveries and, alongside Jurel, stitched a 72-run stand.
However, Mitchell Starc brought the Delhi Capitals back into the game.The left-arm pacer dismissed Parag, Donovan Ferreira and Ravi Singh in the space of four deliveries before returning to remove Dasun Shanaka later in the innings.
Jurel anchored his knock expertly and brought up his fourth fifty of the season before perishing in the final over of the innings.
Abishek Porel and KL Rahul lifted the hosts to 72/0 in the powerplay and added 105 runs for the opening wicket.
Brijesh Sharma broke the opening partnership in the 11th over, outfoxing Abishek Porel with a slower ball, which was miscued to Donovan Ferreira at long-on.
Jofra Archer dismissed Sahil Parakh soon after, while Dasun Shanaka then cleaned up KL Rahul in the 15th over.
From needing 89 from the last 10 overs with all the wickets in hand, the Delhi Capitals were left chasing 35 off the last 18 balls, going from 105/0 in 10 overs to 159/4 in 17.
An unbeaten 18-ball 34 from Axar Patel and a five-ball 18 from Ashutosh Sharma guided the Delhi Capitals to the finish line with four balls to spare.
Rajasthan Royals will take on Lucknow Super Giants in their next match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday.
Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2026, brief scores: RR 193/8 in 20 overs (Dhruv Jurel 53, Riyan Parag 51; Mitchell Starc 4/40) lost to DC 197/5 in 19.2 overs ( KL Rahul 56, Abishek Porel 51; Jofra Archer 2/35) by five wickets.
