Delhi Capitals' playoff hopes for IPL 2026 are hanging by a thread as they are currently 8th on the points table with 10 points from 12 matches and a poor Net Run Rate. In their must-win game against RR, RR was sent to bat first, and they powered through the powerplay despite losing Yashasvi Jaiswal early. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Riyan Parag got all guns blazing, taking RR to 142 in just 13 overs, but a mini collapse happened with the middle order fumbling, letting RR reach 193 in 20 overs. DC coming down to bat followed a similar path to RR playing good cricket with intent in the powerplay.

Abhishek Porel, who was benched earlier along with KL Rahul, went all berserk in the powerplay, registering 72/0, which is Delhi’s highest powerplay score in IPL 2026. DC’s highest PowerPlay score in IPL history is 92/0, which they achieved against the Mumbai Indians in Delhi on April 27, 2024. 72/0 is the second-highest powerplay total for DC against RR in IPL after 78/2 at Delhi in 2024.

If DC can execute the middle overs well without collapsing, then they would be ahead in this game and keeping their hopes alive for playoff 2026 qualification.

‘Positive intent by openers’: Netizens appreciate DC’s batting display against RR

Netizens expressed their appreciation towards DC’s batting against the RR in their May 17th clash, and labelled it as ‘positive intent’ and ‘Clean Hitting’. Some raised questions about how Abhishek Porel was benched in previous DC Games. Some Netizens said that DC always had a strong team on paper with good Indian core, quality overseas players, depth in batting and bowling, yet they always fumble every time in the league.

DC can only reach a maximum of 14 points if they win all the games next. They require teams currently above them (like PBKS, RR, and CSK) to lose their remaining fixtures, allowing DC to sneak into the top 4, depending on NRR