IPL 2026: Delhi Capitals vs Rajasthan Royals Match Preview

New Delhi. In the second match of IPL 2026 on Sunday, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals will face each other. This match will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Both teams need this win to stay in the playoff race. Delhi is in seventh place in the points table with 10 points from 12 matches, while Rajasthan is in fifth place with 12 points from 11 matches.

• Both teams to face each other for the 32nd time

So far, 31 matches have been played between both teams. In which Delhi and Rajasthan have both won 15 matches each. One match was 'tied', in which Rajasthan became victorious. 

This is the second time these two teams will clash this season. Delhi won the previous match played in Jaipur.

• Exciting clash between Starc vs Suryavanshi

The most interesting clash of this match will be between Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Vaibhav has scored 440 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 236.55, which includes 40 sixes.

On the other hand, Mitchell Starc, who has taken more than 400 Test wickets, is sometimes expensive in the IPL and sometimes bowls a match-winning spell. If he gets initial swing and seam, Vaibhav might face difficulties.

• Delhi's weakness: Spin pair

Delhi's biggest concern is the poor form of their spinners. The pair of captain Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav has neither been able to take wickets nor stop runs this season.

Apart from Lungi Ngidi, Delhi's pace attack is also ordinary. T Natarajan and Mukesh Kumar have been expensive. However, Axar Patel is the team's top wicket-taking bowler. Similarly, KL Rahul is the team's top run-scorer with 477 runs in 12 matches.

• Captain Riyan's form is a matter of concern for Rajasthan

For Rajasthan, captain Riyan Parag's form has become a matter of concern. He has scored just 207 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 143. On the other hand, the trio of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel can dominate Delhi's bowlers. Vaibhav is the team's top run-scorer with 440 runs in 11 matches.

However, Rajasthan's bowling attack is strong. Jofra Archer is the team's top wicket-taker with 15 wickets.

Who to watch out for 

• Yashasvi Jaiswal 

As the tournament progresses, Yashasvi Jaiswal's performance has been declining. In his first four innings, he scored 183 runs at an average of 91.50. But in the last seven innings, he has scored only 132 runs at an average of 18.90. 

There is a history between Jaiswal and Starc since the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and they don't seem to have a very good relationship. In the previous encounter earlier this month, Jaiswal hit a six off the first ball, but Starc got him out before the over ended.

• Tristan Stubbs

Tristan Stubbs is one of the slowest starting batsmen this season, with a strike rate of just 111 in his first 10 balls. The main objective behind batting like this is to understand the pitch and conditions and then play aggressively.

But even after settling in, Stubbs' strike rate is not very good - after crossing 20 balls, his strike rate is only 140. However, he is a much better player than these statistics suggest.

• Arun Jaitley Stadium Pitch Report

The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is considered helpful for batsmen in the IPL. Due to the flat pitch and short boundaries of 60-66 meters, 'high-scoring' matches are often played here. 103 IPL matches have been played here. 

Here, the team batting first has won 47 times and the team chasing the target has won 53 times. One match was abandoned, and two matches went to a super over.

• No chance of rain in Delhi today

The weather is expected to be hot during the match between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals. There is no possibility of rain. Heat and humidity in the evening might trouble the players and spectators. The daytime temperature will be between 38°C to 40°C, which will drop to around 30°C by evening.

Will Parag return to the field?

Parag has practiced in the nets before this match. There is a strong possibility that he will return to Rajasthan's 11-member team. Delhi is likely to rely on KL Rahul to handle the top order and Kuldeep Yadav to return to form, as they have limited options for those positions.

• Delhi Capitals (Probable 11): 1. Abhishek Porel, 2. KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), 3. Sahil Parakh, 4. David Miller, 5. Ashutosh Sharma, 6. Axar Patel (Captain), 7. Tristan Stubbs, 8. Madhav Tiwari, 9. Kuldeep Yadav, 10. Mitchell Starc, 11. Lungi Ngidi, 12. Mukesh Kumar.
• Rajasthan Royals (Probable 11): 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 3. Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), 4. Riyan Parag (Captain), 5. Donovan Ferreira, 6. Shubham Dubey, 7. Ravindra Jadeja, 8. Jofra Archer, 9. R Ashwin/Yash Pania, 10. Nandre Burger/Adam Milne, 11. Brijesh Sharma, 12. Tushar Deshpande.

Statistics and Interesting Information

• Suryavanshi has hit the most sixes (30) in the powerplay this season and also the most (40) overall. More than 50% of his total 440 runs are a result of his ability to send the ball out of the ground, and Delhi is a small cricket ground.
• Delhi is a very dangerous batting team in the death overs. They have scored runs at a rate of 11.4 per over, which is the second best in the league. David Miller (strike rate 230) and Ashutosh Sharma (strike rate 219) are the main pillars of this.
• Rajasthan has Jofra Archer as a solution to control this situation, who has an excellent record against Miller in all T20 cricket: 2 dismissals in 5 innings for 19 runs, where Miller's strike rate is only 90.
• Donovan Ferreira can be dangerous in the death overs. He has come to the crease only three times between overs 17 and 20. But even in this short time, he has become the player with the most sixes (11) in the death overs of the league, with his per-six ball ratio being 2.63.
• Mukesh Kumar's 6 wickets so far have all been against left-handed batsmen, with an average of 24.25 and an economy rate of 9.09. Delhi is likely to use him against Jaiswal and Suryavanshi in the top order. Mukesh's stats against right-handed batsmen in this IPL: average 108 and economy rate 11.78.