Delhi Capitals kept their IPL 2026 playoff hopes alive with an important five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday after a strong comeback with both ball and bat. While DC moved to 12 points with one league game still remaining, Rajasthan were left disappointed after failing to make the most of a strong batting start.
RR captain Riyan Parag admitted his team let the game slip after building an excellent platform during the first half of the innings.
Riyan Parag says RR failed to finish strongly
Rajasthan Royals looked set for a huge total after crossing 150 runs by the 14th over, but the innings lost momentum badly during the death overs.
Parag felt RR should have finished with a score well above 200 after the position they had created.
“We were in a pretty good space after 14 overs. Once I got out we didn’t capitalise and should have got around 210. Our bowling, we weren’t up to the mark.”
The Royals captain also accepted that the team only had themselves to blame for their difficult situation in the playoff race.
“If you want to win a trophy, you have to compete in every game. We’re a way better team than we showed in the last 4-5 games. Coming from a break, skillwise, energywise, executionwise we weren’t there and if we play like this, we shouldn’t be in the top four.
“We had the opportunity, we didn’t take it. If we don’t qualify, it’s our fault, nobody else’s,” he added.
Mitchell Starc helps Delhi Capitals fight back
Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel praised his bowling attack for turning the game around during the final overs of Rajasthan’s innings.
DC bowlers pulled things back brilliantly after RR’s explosive start and prevented the hosts from reaching a much bigger total.
“We bowled really well in the middle overs to make a comeback. The last six overs, it was class bowling. The bowling unit refused to give up. Our ‘youngster’ (Starc) did that for us today,” Axar said after the match.
Axar Patel praises opening partnership
Axar also highlighted the importance of the opening stand between KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel during the chase.
The pair added 105 runs at the top and ensured Delhi stayed ahead of the required rate for most of the innings.
“It’s obviously special to win at home. One thing has improved that we used to lose wickets in clusters easily, but today we got a good opening stand which helped the other batters.”
KL Rahul and Abhishek Porel set up DC chase
KL Rahul scored 56 while Abhishek Porel added 51 to provide Delhi Capitals with the perfect start in the chase.
Their partnership removed pressure from the middle order and allowed DC to control the game despite a few late wickets.
The victory keeps Delhi alive in the playoff race heading into their final league game, though the team will still depend on other results to qualify for the top four.
The post ‘We don’t deserve top four’: Riyan Parag’s honest reaction after Rajasthan Royals’ costly IPL 2026 defeat vs Delhi Capitals appeared first on Cricket Country.
