Delhi Capitals won the toss and opted to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in Match 62 of IPL 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, 17 May. With both sides teetering on the edge of playoff elimination, the contest carries outsize stakes — a loss for either team would all but end their postseason ambitions.

Debut Calls and Team Changes

Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel confirmed that bowling all-rounder Tripurana Vijay makes his IPL debut, replacing Auqib Nabi in the XI. On the other side, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag — returning to lead the side after missing the previous match against Gujarat Titans due to a hamstring injury — handed a debut cap to wicketkeeper-batter Ravi Singh. Ravindra Jadeja was left out due to 'load management', while Adam Milne was brought into the attack.

What the Captains Said

Axar Patel struck an upbeat tone at the toss, saying the team's atmosphere had remained positive even through difficult outings. 'When you win, you feel good. The atmosphere has been good even during the losses,' he said. He added that the focus was on executing well regardless of pitch behaviour: 'We will try to bat and bowl well, no matter how the wicket behaves. You have to keep things on the field there and not carry it off the field.'

Riyan Parag, candid about his read of the surface, acknowledged uncertainty before settling on bowling first. 'I was pretty unsure about the wicket as well. It looks like it's dry, but then we've seen the past scores and results here; chasing has been better, though it also tends to slow down a bit later on,' he said. Parag also flagged that RR had struggled to defend totals in recent matches and viewed Sunday's game as a chance to correct that: 'We've had some ups and downs in the last few games. I think we haven't defended totals very well. But today gives us another opportunity to do that and hopefully get it right.'

Pitch and Ground Conditions

Sunday's match is being played on pitch number six — the centre wicket at Arun Jaitley Stadium. The square boundaries measure 63 metres on each side, while the straight boundary stands at 73 metres. Historical data from the venue suggests chasing sides have had an edge, though the surface is known to slow down as the innings progresses.

Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (captain), Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Mukesh Kumar. Impact substitutes: Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Vipraj Nigam, Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair.

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (captain), Ravi Singh, Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Adam Milne, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja. Impact substitutes: Dasun Shanaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ravi Bishnoi, Sushant Mishra, Aman Rao.

With playoff spots still mathematically available for both sides, the result of this final home game for Delhi could reshape the bottom half of the IPL 2026 points table before the tournament's closing stages.