DC vs RR Highlights IPL 2026: DC stay alive as RR lose steam in qualification race; hosts' bowling shines

DC vs RR LIVE Score: Ashutosh Sharma celebrates after finishing things off for DC at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

DC vs RR Highlights, IPL 2026: Preparing for only their third game in 19 days, the lack of rhythm for Rajasthan Royals has been telling as they have slowly slipped out of the playoff spots and now find themselves playing catch-up. With 12 points in 11 games, their fate is still in their hands – only three other teams can reach 18 points, which means wins against the current bottom three of the IPL will seal their progress.

But as MI and LSG earlier this week and even tonight’s opponents Delhi Capitals showed in Dharamshala earlier in the week, the teams with nothing to lose are often the most dangerous when they meet teams that tighten up when they try to be more careful. DC are still technically in the race, but need a sequence of losses for the teams ahead of them in the table: they could pull off a pair of miracle wins and it might not be close to enough for tonight’s hosts.

But at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, with captain Axar Patel already having made it clear that DC are looking towards the future even with a stake in this season. A turn to youth with Sahil Parakh and Madhav Tiwari did wonders as DC kept PBKS relatively quiet before a 211-run chase, with Axar himself finally finding some form with bat after what had been a horror season to that point.

RR are struggling with their batting and bowling alike struggling for rhythm, which they had in such heaps early in the season. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is due a big score and will have the smaller confines of the Delhi ground to help his immense power – and significantly, will be hungry for a bit of revenge after Kyle Jamieson yorked him and celebrated in his grill in the reverse fixture in Jaipur.

There are still a few question marks over the participation of RR captain Riyan Parag, with Yashasvi Jaiswal stepping in for the last game in his RR captaincy debut. RR will want access to their strongest team at this point in time, and that will include having their bowling tick as Jofra Archer had a very poor game last time out as he bled early runs.

Delhi will play a brave, uncontained brand of cricket and will want to see some dynamic batting in particular from Tristan Stubbs, who has had a quiet tournament, as well as teenaged Sahil Parakh, who will want to make his case for next year. The bowling will be interesting to see – do they go for an all-pace attack once again, with the lack of form for Kuldeep and Vipraj being a point of concern?

A can’t-lose match for both teams, but more at stake for RR as they try to keep destiny in their own hands.