Riyan Parag's futile heroics as Delhi Capitals break shackles in record chase

Results in brief: Delhi Capitals (226/3) beat Rajasthan Royals (225/6 in 20 overs) by 7 wickets at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.

RR vs DC: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

Delhi Capitals finally have something to cheer about as they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Jaipur to end their poor run in IPL 2026. DC were earlier shocked when they failed to defend 264 against Punjab Kings, after which Royal Challengers Bengaluru stunned them by bowling them for 75 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. At that stage, everything seemed to go wrong for the Capitals.

But on Friday, the Capitals snapped a three-match losing streak after chasing down a mammoth target of 226 with five balls to spare. In fact, the Capitals responded in style and recorded their most successful run-chase in IPL history.

For Royals, Riyan Parag returned to form with an impressive knock of 90 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, but his reviving innings came in vain. Meanwhile, the Royals began to lose momentum.

They started their campaign at the top of the table with four wins on the trot and have now lost four of their last six games. As a result, Rajasthan Royals are now in danger of dropping out of the top four with Gujarat Titans breathing down their necks.

JUREL, PARAG STEADY ROYALS

With the Royals batting first, all eyes were on how the battle between Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would unfold. However, this competition did not take place Kyle Jamieson cleaned up the 15-year-old boywho suffered a rare failure and gave him a fire shot.

Starc didn’t get off to the best of starts after Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed him over leg-side for a six in the very first ball of the match, but the veteran pacer bounced back in style to dismiss the Rajasthan opener.

With both the RR openers back in the hut inside the first two overs, Dhruv Jurel and Riyan Parag stepped in and ensured the side did not lose momentum, guiding them through a power play that yielded 56 runs.

The duo went on to stitch a 102-run stand from 59 balls to put RR in a commanding position. Between them, Parag looked into a completely different zone and played with intent and authority.

PARAG, FERREIRA SHINE

Parag, which has been under scrutiny for its vaping controversyhe seemed determined to respond forcefully. The Rajasthan skipper, who was averaging around 14 before this match, brought up his half-century from 32 balls.

Just when he looked set for his maiden IPL century, Starc accounted for his wicket. However, Paraga’s 90-run knock with eight fours and five sixes provided RR with a solid platform.

Jurel played a perfect supporting role, scoring 42 off 30 deliveries. Ravindra Jadeja, promoted up the order, managed 20 off 14 before being dismissed by Starc. However, it was Donovan Ferreira who made the real difference in the death overs with an unbeaten 47 off just 14 balls.

In the 18th over, Ferreira unleashed a brutal onslaught, smashing Kuldeep Yadav for three consecutive sixes before targeting Starc and T Natarajan. Starc, playing his first match of IPL 2026, was arguably DC’s best bowler, finishing with figures of 4-0-40-3.

RAHUL, THE NISSAN PLACES THE PLATFORM

Capitals got off to a flying start with KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka ensuring their team took the initiative right from the start. On the back of a horror batting performance against RCB where they posted the lowest powerplay score in IPL history, DC put in a much better performance as Rahul and Nissanka added 110 runs for the opening wicket in 9.3 overs.

Nissanka, who replaced Sahil Parakh as opener, raced to a half-century off 23 balls and put the Rajasthan bowlers under immediate pressure. When RR needed a breakthrough, Ravindra Jadeja stepped up and dismissed Nissanko, who made 62 off 33 balls with six fours and three sixes.

LARGE CAPITALS CLINICALLY FINISH IT

Then Nitish Rana and KL Rahul continued the momentum and stitched a decisive 61 runs for the second wicket. Rana scored 33 off 17 balls before being dismissed by Tushar Deshpande when he was caught after effective use of DRS. With 53 needed off the last 30 balls, the Capitals still had their noses slightly ahead.

However, Jofra Archer brought the Royals back into the contest, picking up the big wicket of KL Rahul, who made 75 off 40 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes. In the 17th, the floodlights went out, causing a brief interruption of play.

With 30 runs needed off 18 balls, Tristan Stubbs (18) and Ashutosh Sharma (25) ensured DC suffered no major hiccups. Ashutosh Sharma then 16 runs from the 18th over to keep the Capitals firmly in control. With five needed off the last ball, Ashutosh hit Brijesh Sharma for a boundary through the offside and then completed the chase with a single.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

01 May 2026 23:39 IST