Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are facing each other in their most important game of the season. With four wins in ten matches, DC are looking to close their gap to the top four, and with seven points in nine matches, KKR are seeking their fourth straight win of the season today.
Also read: DC vs KKR Pitch Report
IPL 2026 Match 51: DC vs KKR Live Score and Match Updates
Pathum Nissanka off to good start
Pathum Nissanka smashes Vaibhav Arora for a huge shot over deep square to produce the first six of the match in the second over. A good start for Nissanka today.
Pathum Nissanka - 14 off 8 balls
KL Rahul - 3 off 4 balls
DC - 17/0 in 2 overs
Balanced start to the game
Pathum Nissanka finds a four off Anukul Roy on the second delivery of the game, but the bowler concedes just 7 runs in the opening over.
Pathum Nissanka - 6 off 4 balls
KL Rahul - 1 off 2 balls
DC - 7/0 in 1 over
Match begins
Openers Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul are out in the middle to open DC's innings at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Anukul Roy to bowl the first over for KKR.
The game is on in New Delhi...
Axar hopes for more help for the spinners today
"As much as I have played on Delhi wickets, I feel there isn’t too much spin, but because of a little slowness, you know, the ball comes a bit slower after pitching. So I think spinners get a little help. And as far as seamers are concerned, mostly they use slower bouncers and slower balls more on these wickets. So I thought of using a combination of three spinners and three fast bowlers."
DC XI Today
Mukesh Kumar and Vipraj Nigam come in for Delhi, replacing T Natarajan and Karun Nair. Also, Kuldeep Yadav starts from the bench. No David Miller tonight.
DC XI (batting first): Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi, Mukesh Kumar
Impact players: Kuldeep Yadav, Karun Nair, Abhishek Porel, T Natarajan, David Miller
KKR XI Today
No changes to KKR's playing XI today. Finn Allen starts from the bench. No Ramandeep Singh and Matheesha Pathirana for KKR.
KKR XI (bowling first): Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
Impact players: Finn Allen, Ramandeep Singh, Tejasvi Singh, Navdeep Saini, Tim Seifert
Toss Time
Captains Axar Patel and Ajinkya Rahane are out in the middle for the toss.
Rahane wins the toss and Kolkata Knight Riders decide to bowl first today
No changes to KKR's playing XI. Mukesh Kumar and Vipraj Nigam return for Delhi.
David Miller struggles to find a place in DC XI
David Miller has spent the last two games on the bench. Since Mitchell Starc's return, the South African hitter has been overlooked by Axar Patel. Pathum Nissanka, Tristan Stubbs and Lungi Ngidi have done well so far this season, so Miller's return is very unlikely today.
Delhi can pick an Indian opener to partner KL Rahul and sacrifice Nissanka for Miller, but the Sri Lanka's big fifty against RR might have sealed a
Will Matheesha Pathirana play today?
KKR signed Matheesha Pathirana for INR 18 crore in the auction, but have yet to utilize his services this season. Pathirana is fully fit, but is struggling to find a place in the playing XI. With Sunil Narine, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Finn Allen occupying four overseas slots, we are unlikely to see Pathirana playing today.
KKR are not expected to tinker with their winning combination, so no Pathirana today.
Head-to-Head Record
KKR dominate this contest with 19 wins in 35 meetings against DC in IPL. Kolkata have also won their last three encounters against DC and are favourites to win today.
- Matches Played: 35
- Delhi Capitals won: 15
- Kolkata Knight Riders won: 19
- No Result: 1
Kolkata Knight Riders look to extend winning run
After no wins in their first six game, Kolkata Knight Riders went on to record three successive victories to keep their playoff hopes alive. In their last game, KKR stunned the current table toppers SRH by easily chasing down a 166-run target.
With three wins in nine matches, the Knight Riders are placed 8th in the points table. They can score 17 points maximum, so winning today's game will be crucial for Ajinkya Rahane's side.
Spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine have been brilliant in the last three matches and might play a big role at Arun Jaitley Stadium today. However, an inconistsent batting attack needs a big improvement if they wish to make the playoffs in IPL 2026.
Delhi Capitals eye survival
Delhi Capitals started this season with two wins, but have managed to win just one of their last five matches. A mixed campaign with inconsistent performance now puts them in a tough position.
With 8 points from 10 matches, DC are 7th in the points table, four points behind fourth-placed RR. A loss today will probably end their playoff hopes, as they can score a maximum of 16 points from here.
Apart from KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs, Delhi's batting has been inconsistent throughout the season. The bowling showed a lot of promise in the early games, but now has become a big concern. Mitchell Starc's return has been a big boost, but the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel have been ineffective with a spin this season.
Delhi and Kolkata meet in crucial game today
Hello everyone, welcome to Sports Yaari's live coverage of today's IPL game in New Delhi.
Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders are fighting for the two crucial points at Arun Jaitley Stadium to revive their playoff hopes today.
So, stay tuned for live scores and match updates here...