IPL 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru win toss; opts to field against Delhi Capitals

The high-voltage clash between the Capitals and the defending champions, RCB, is being held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Speaking after the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said the decision was influenced by conditions that are expected to favour batting, especially under lights in the second innings.

"We will bowl first. This venue is a high-scoring ground; it will not make much difference. We will try to put them under pressure in the second innings. The most important thing is that different players are coming up and delivering in different matches. We have played some good cricket and continue to carry that momentum. It is in the past, we are looking to play good cricket," RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said.

Speaking after the match, the Capitals captain Axar Patel said the conditions were heavily influenced by the small ground dimensions and a pitch that became better for batting as the game progressed.

"I would have fielded if I won the toss. The ground dimensions are small, the pitch also gets better, so we would have chased as well. In the IPL, you score 264 and lose, but it is a long tournament; we had a good game with bat and ball. If we had held our chances, then the result would be different," Axar said.

Teams:

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Sahil Parakh, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Dushmantha Chameera, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Kyle Jamieson.

Delhi Capitals (Impact Subs): Auqib Nabi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, T Vijay, Abishek Porel.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Impact Subs): Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal, Venkatesh Iyer. (ANI)