Sports News | KL Rahul, Abishek Porel Fifties and Axar Patel Cameo Guide DC to Crucial Victory Against RR

New Delhi [India], May 17 (ANI): Fluent half-centuries from Abishek Porel and KL Rahul, followed by a blistering late cameo from Axar Patel, powered Delhi Capitals to a five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League clash in New Delhi on Sunday.

Porel struck a brisk 51 off 31 balls, studded with seven fours and a six, while Rahul anchored the chase with a composed 56 from 42 deliveries, including a four and three sixes.

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DC skipper Axar then applied the finishing touches with an explosive 34 off just 18 balls, smashing two fours and two sixes.

Chasing 194, Abishek Porel and KL Rahul gave the Delhi Capitals a flying start with an aggressive opening stand. The duo hammered 14 runs in the first over and followed it up with another 13 in the next to put immediate pressure on the bowlers.

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DC raced to their fifty in just four overs, with Porel and Rahul continuing their attacking approach to propel the hosts to a commanding 72/0 at the end of the powerplay. The duo slammed boundaries and knocked singles when needed.

Delhi Capitals' blistering 72/0 in the powerplay was their highest total in the first six overs of IPL 2026. It was only the third time in 13 innings this season that DC went wicketless in the power play, with two of those instances coming against the Rajasthan Royals.

The score also became DC's second-highest powerplay total against RR in IPL history, only behind the 78/2 they registered in Delhi during the 2024 season.

The duo continued to take the attack to the Rajasthan Royals bowlers, powering Delhi Capitals past the 100-run mark in the 10th over. The visitors finally found a much-needed breakthrough when Brijesh Sharma dismissed Abishek Porel for a fluent 51 off 31 balls, bringing Sahil Parakh to the crease.

Jofra Archer also struck, removing Parakh for 9 off 8 balls, bringing DC skipper Axar Patel to the crease. Dasun Shanaka also had a much-needed breakthrough, removing the set batter Rahul for 56, bringing Tristan Stubbs to the crease.

DC reached 151-3, after 16th overs, needing 43 runs in 24 balls with Stubbs and Patel at the crease. Archer also struck, removing Stubbs for 4, bringing David Miller to the crease.

Miller and Patel slammed Donovan Ferreira for 16 runs in the 18th over, bringing the equation to 19 runs in 12 balls. In the following, Brijesh Sharma struck and removed Miller for 9, bringing Ashutosh Sharma to the crease.

Sharma and Patel sealed the match in the final over with 4 balls to spare.

Earlier in the match, DC bowling, led by Mitchell Starc's four-fer and key contributions from Lungi Ngidi and Madhav Tiwari, restricted RR to 193/8 in 20 overs despite getting a strong.

From a strong position of 140/2 in 12 overs, RR were restricted to 193/8, with Starc starring for DC with a four-wicket haul. He was well supported by two wickets each from Ngidi and Madhav.

Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field in a must-win encounter to keep their playoff hopes alive.

After being put in to bat first by Delhi Capitals, the Rajasthan Royals suffered an early setback when Lungi Ngidi outsmarted the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) with a slower ball in the third over, reducing the visitors to 19/1 in 2 overs. However, the early wicket did little to slow down RR's batting.

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi launched a blistering assault on the DC bowling unit. Sooryavanshi, along with Dhruv Jurel, targeted Mitchell Starc by taking 16 runs off the third over to take RR to 35/1.

Notably, Dhruv Jurel received a lifeline in the fourth over when he was dropped by KL Rahul, with the batter on four runs.

Sooryavanshi continued his onslaught as he slammed DC's Tripurana Vijay for 18 runs in the fifth over. After five overs, RR were 58/1. Then in the next over, Jurel took on pacer Mukesh Kumar, hitting two boundaries and a six as DC reached 75/1 after the power play.

DC's Madhav Tiwari got rid of Sooryavanshi in the eighth over, but not before he smashed 46 runs off just 21 deliveries, hitting five boundaries and three sixes. After eight overs, RR stood at 92/2.

Riyan Parag took charge for Rajasthan Royals, smashing two sixes off Axar Patel in the 11th over before following it up with three sixes and a four in the next over from Mukesh Kumar. After 12 overs, Delhi Capitals were 140/2.

Riyan Parag brought up a quickfire fifty off 23 balls in the 14th over for Rajasthan Royals. However, the match turned in the following over when Mitchell Starc struck twice in successive deliveries, removing Parag (51 off 26) and Donovan Ferreira for a duck, before also dismissing Ravi Singh for 4, narrowly missing out on a hat-trick. After 15 overs, DC were at 166/5.

Madhav Tiwari removed Shubham Dubey for 5 runs in the 17th over, further halting RR's momentum.

New batter Dhasun Shanaka came to the crease and hit a six off Lungi Ngidi's bowling as RR reached 182/6 after 18 overs. Jurel brought up his fifty off 36 balls, but Starc handed RR another blow as he scalped Shanaka's (10) wicket in the penultimate over.

Ngidi dismissed Jurel (53 runs off 40 balls) in the final over, stopping the Royals from finishing big. RR eventually ended their innings at 193/8 in 20 overs.

Delhi Capitals were well served by their bowlers, with Mitchell Starc leading the attack with 4/40 in four overs. Lungi Ngidi (2/24) and Madhav Tiwari (2/27) also made key contributions, while Axar Patel kept things tight with an economical spell of 0/31 in his four overs. (ANI)

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