Royal Challengers Bengaluru host Delhi Capitals in the 26th match of IPL 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in an afternoon game that begins at 3:30 pm local time. Few grounds suit aggressive batting as well as this one, and both line-ups have the power to take advantage.
Bengaluru’s likely XI is led by Rajat Patidar and has plenty of top-order quality in Virat Kohli, Philip Salt and Devdutt Padikkal, with Jitesh Sharma, Tim David and Romario Shepherd behind them. Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bring experience, and Josh Hazlewood leads the pace attack.
Delhi, captained by Axar Patel, have KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka at the top, with Nitish Rana, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs to follow. Kuldeep Yadav is the key spinner, backed by Lungi Ngidi, T Natarajan and Mukesh Kumar. With short boundaries and a fast outfield, control in the middle overs, where spin may slow the run rate, could decide the contest.
We expect a powerplay of 50–60 runs if the openers go hard, and teams at this ground usually look for 90 or more in the closing ten overs. A first-innings score of 180–200 looks realistic, and the afternoon heat will test the bowlers’ stamina.
