18 May,2026 06:34 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Abhishek Porel (Pic: X/@DelhiCapitals)
In the IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Capitals (DC) emerged victorious by five wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
During the run chase of 194 runs, DC scored 197 runs for the loss of five wickets in 19.2 overs. Opening batsman Abhishek Porel played a crucial knock of 51 runs in 31 deliveries. His knock was laced with seven boundaries and a maximum.
Speaking about his knock, former Team India cricketer Piyush Chawla said that his innings was impressive. He also said that Porel made sure that fellow opening batsman KL Rahul didn't feel any pressure while batting at the other end.
"Abhishek Porel's innings was extremely impressive because despite not getting too many opportunities this season, he came in with complete positive intent. What stood out was the way he ensured there was no pressure on KL Rahul at the other end. Whenever the ball was in his zone, he was willing to take his chances and play the attacking shots, which was very important in a chase of over 190," he said on JioHotstar.
Rahul also registered 56 runs off 42 balls, with the help of a boundary and three maximums. The former cricketer feels that the aggressive start from the DC's opening duo made a huge difference for the side.
"Considering how the first innings played out, that aggressive start made a big difference for Delhi Capitals," added Chawla.
Later, skipper Axar Patel delivered an unbeaten knock of 34 runs in 18 balls, including two boundaries and the same number of maximums. Impact Player, Ashutosh Sharma, also scored an unbeaten 18 runs in five balls, including a boundary and two maximums.
RR's lead pacer Jofra Archer and Brijesh Sharma bagged two wickets each. Impact Player, Dasun Shanaka, also claimed one wicket.
The Capitals will now lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on May 24 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This will mark the end of the campaign for the Capitals, as they have already been knocked out of the tournament.
Delhi Capitals: David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, KL Rahul (WK), Karun Nair, Axar Patel (C), Ben Duckett (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Kyle Jamieson, Lungi Ngidi, T. Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Pathum Nissanka, Ajay Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Sahil Parakh, Madhav Tiwari.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra.
