IPL 2026: Delhi Capitals Face Gujarat Titans in Delhi

New Delhi. In the 14th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Delhi Capitals are set to face Gujarat Titans today. The match will begin at 7:45 PM at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. 

This is the first meeting between Delhi and Gujarat this season. It will be the third match for both teams. Delhi is currently in fourth place in the points table with 4 points after winning both their matches. On the other hand, Gujarat is in ninth place after losing both their opening games.

Head-to-Head: Only a one-game difference

In IPL history, these two teams have played 7 matches so far. Delhi has won 3 and Gujarat has won 4.

In IPL 2025, these two teams played 2 matches, and Gujarat won both.

Sameer Rizvi is the season's top scorer

Sameer Rizvi is Delhi's top scorer. He has scored half-centuries in both matches. 

Rizvi has scored 160 runs in 2 matches at a strike rate of 163.26. In bowling, T. Natarajan has taken 4 wickets in 2 matches.

Gill did not play in the previous match

Gujarat captain Shubman Gill could not play the previous match. In his absence, Rashid Khan took over the captaincy. Gill's return is considered certain for the match against Delhi, and a big innings is expected from him.

Sai Sudharsan is the team's top scorer this season. He has scored 86 runs in 2 matches at a strike rate of 156.36. In bowling, Prasidh Krishna has taken 4 wickets in 2 matches.

Special Focus 

• Nitish Rana 

The number three position gives a batter the chance to take advantage of powerplay fielding restrictions and also provides an opportunity to play a key role in the middle overs. However, Nitish Rana has not been able to do much for Delhi so far. He struggled to score 15 runs off 17 balls against Punjab Kings and returned to the pavilion without scoring after facing 3 balls against Mumbai Indians. 

Karun Nair is sitting on the bench, and Rana knows well that if he cannot score runs in the top order (and quickly), he could be dropped from the team.

• Kagiso Rabada

Kagiso Rabada looks far from his golden year in the IPL in 2020, when he won the 'Purple Cap' and had an economy rate of 8.34. He has taken three wickets in two matches for Gujarat, but most importantly, he has conceded runs at an economy of 10.85. This is similar to his economy rate over the last three years in the IPL: 10.08, 8.85, and 11.57. 

His cross-seam deliveries in the death overs have not been very effective, and the yorker is slowly disappearing from his arsenal. Whether he can show his wicket-taking magic again will be the main topic of discussion this season, especially on Wednesday evening.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium will be excellent for batters. Fast bowlers might get some help with the new ball in the opening overs. 

So far, 98 matches have been played here in the IPL. The team batting first has won 47 matches, and the team batting second has won 50, while one match ended in a no-result. The highest score at this ground is 278/3, which Sunrisers Hyderabad scored against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2025.

Weather Report

Some parts of Delhi may experience rain with thunderstorms, while other areas will be sunny. There may be a slight change in the weather, and it may be cloudy in some places. There is a 57% chance of rain. On April 8, the temperature here will be between 17 and 28 degrees Celsius.

Predicted Playing-12 for both teams

• Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (captain), David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Kuldeep Yadav, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar, T. Natarajan, and Sameer Rizvi.
• Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

Statistics and Interesting Facts

• On pitch number five at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where this match is being held, four night matches were played in IPL 2024 and 2025. The run rate in those matches was 10.11. Especially in the death overs, the run rate increased to 12.67.
• KL Rahul has scored only one run in this tournament so far, but he will be eager to face Mohammed Siraj when he comes to open: he has scored 135 runs off 79 balls against Siraj in nine innings at a strike rate of 170.88. He has been dismissed by Siraj only once. Gujarat may hold back Siraj and bring in Rabada against Rahul, who has dismissed Rahul three times in 12 innings at an average of 22.66.
• With a match-winning innings of 90* (not out) against Mumbai Indians, Rizvi became the seventh male cricketer in IPL history to win the Player of the Match award three times in a row - this streak started from Delhi's last match in IPL 2025. If he delivers another match-winning performance, he could become the first player to win this award four times in a row.