Delhi Capitals must beat Rajasthan Royals to remain in the hunt for a play-off place when the two meet at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
The Capitals sit seventh in the IPL standings after their three-wicket win over the Punjab Kings in Sharamshala on Monday.
That result would have been welcomed by the Royals, who suffered a 77-run defeat to the Gujarat Titans in their last outing.
Axar Patel’s side will aim to maintain their winning momentum at home, although their recent record in Delhi is woeful.
But they did clinch a seven-wicket win over RR in Jaipur at the start of the month thanks to KL Rahul’s innings of 75 off 40 balls and Mitchell Starc’s three-wicket haul.
Three defeats in their last four have checked the Royals’ momentum, but they have enough batting talent to beat anyone on their day.
Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals Tips Summary
Best Bet - Rajasthan Royals Match Handicap -3.5 wickets / -6.5 runs @ 10/11
Alternative Bet - Tristan Stubbs Under 23.5 Runs @ 5/6
Bet Builder - Rajasthan Royals to win, David Miller top Delhi Capitals batter & Jofra Archer 1+ wicket @ 11/1
Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals Predictions
Best Bet: Rajasthan Royals Match Handicap -3.5 wickets / -6.5 runs @ 10/11
Rajasthan were outplayed in all disciplines and phases by the Capitals when they played host earlier this month.
But Delhi’s problems appear to lie closer to home with an awful recent record in matches at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Patel’s men have lost eight of their last nine IPL matches at the venue and have suffered some severe beatings there in the past month.
PBKS won by six wickets, RCB romped to a nine-wicket win, and both CSK and KKR ran out winners by eight wickets.
Contrary to the overwhelming evidence of those results going the way of the chasing side, DC won the toss in two and elected to bat first both times.
Questionable leadership and decision-making are just a couple of reasons why they are a few points off the pace with only two games to go.
Aside from KL Rahul, their batting has failed to fire this year and even the India opener has now begun to lose his form.
A handicap victory looks well within reach for a Royals side that has won back-to-back away games by comfortable margins — 40 runs and six wickets.
Alternative Bet: Tristan Stubbs Under 23.5 Runs @ 5/6
Stubbs has been one of Delhi’s few bright sparks this season, but his recent form has dipped.
He has passed 24 runs only once in his last five innings and has struggled against high‑quality spin — a major concern given he will likely face wily Indian great Ravindra Jadeja and tall, teenage leg-spinner Yash Raj Punja on Sunday.
Rajasthan’s attack is built to choke momentum after the Powerplay, and Stubbs’ tendency to start slowly could put him under immediate pressure. With Delhi’s top order misfiring, he may also be forced into high‑risk shots earlier than he would like.
Under 23.5 runs looks a strong angle.
Delhi Capitals v Rajasthan Royals Bet Builder
- Rajasthan Royals to Win
- David Miller Top Delhi Capitals Batter
- Jofra Archer 1+ Wicket
Pays 11/1
Take the Royals to avenge their defeat earlier this month because they have a better record away from Jaipur and the Capitals cannot seem make home advantage count.
Miller was recalled to the Delhi line-up last time out and made 51 off 28 balls before skying a swipe across the line to extra cover.
He is among the best in the world at dominating against spin and appears well‑placed to shine in a misfiring DC line‑up.
Archer, meanwhile, has looked sharper with each passing game. His pace and hard lengths are perfectly suited to the Arun Jaitley surface, and Delhi’s top order has repeatedly struggled against high‑quality seam. One wicket for the Barbados-born star feels a safe inclusion.
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Key Match Stats
- Rajasthan Royals have won their last two away matches
- Delhi Capitals have lost five straight home games
- Stubbs has passed 23.5 runs in only one of his last five innings
- Royals have the best middle‑overs economy rate in IPL 2026
- Jofra Archer has taken at least one wicket in eight of his last nine matches
- Vaibhav Suryavanshi has hit 40 sixes in 11 games while scoring 440 runs at a stunning strike-rate of 236.55.
Tactics, Form & Team News
Delhi should keep faith with the same XI that won last time out after making five changes to their line-up.
Abishek Porel and Sahil Parakh came in for Pathum Nissanka and Nitish Rana at the top while David Miller’s recall saw him bring finishing power to the middle order.
Mitchell Starc remains their biggest weapon with the ball, but he has lacked support from Lungi Ngidi, while Axar Patel did not even bowl himself against PBKS.
Expected Delhi Capitals XI: 1 KL Rahul (wk), 2 Abishek Porel 3 Sahil Parakh, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Axar Patel ©, 6 David Miller, 7 Madhav Tiwari, 8 Mukesh Kumar, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Auqib Nabi.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to continue leading RR in the absence of injured skipper Riyan Parag, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Dhruv Jurel is likely to keep the gloves and bat at three after scoring 314 runs in 11 innings.
Expected Rajasthan Royals XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 4 Shimron Heymyer, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Sgubham Dubey, 8 Dasun Shanaka, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Brijesh Sharma.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
