Delhi Capitals opt to bowl first against RCB in Bengaluru IPL 2026 opener

Delhi Capitals chose to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru after winning the toss in Bengaluru.

Toss and captain's call Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel called the toss and decided to bowl first against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a high-temperature afternoon match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Axar’s call was praised by RCB’s Rajat Patidar, who admitted his team preferred batting first. Axar explained that the pitch at Chinnaswamy seemed to favor teams chasing totals, noting that in the IPL 2026 season, teams batting second had already won two of the three matches played there. RCB’s victory against Chennai Super Kings last month—after posting 250 for 3—also came after choosing to bat first. ## DC unchanged despite recent loss Delhi Capitals fielded an unchanged XI from their previous game in Chennai on April 11, where they suffered a defeat to Chennai Super Kings. This meant Jammu & Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi retained his spot despite a quiet debut. In his first outing at Chepauk, Auqib bowled just two overs without taking a wicket but conceded 17 runs, while contributing four runs with the bat from number eight in the order. His position in the playing XI was listed as number seven, but Ashutosh Sharma is expected to come into the side as an Impact Substitute when DC bat later in the day. ## RCB unchanged with bowling changes likely Royal Challengers Bengaluru also named an unchanged squad from their previous win over Lucknow Super Giants. Pace bowler Rasikh Salam Dar is set to feature as an Impact Sub, likely replacing one of the specialist batters when RCB bowl. It remains unclear whether Virat Kohli, who made his Impact Sub debut against LSG, will make way for Rasikh. Kohli had not been part of RCB’s bowling-first XI against LSG and had been absent during the match against Mumbai Indians last Sunday. ## Kohli’s fitness concerns ahead of milestone game Kohli revealed he had been dealing with knee soreness and had not been feeling well leading up to RCB’s last game against LSG on Wednesday. His absence from the XI against LSG and Mumbai Indians raised questions about his availability for Saturday’s fixture. The match holds special significance as it marks RCB’s 100th game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, exactly 19 years after their first IPL match there. A win today would propel RCB to the top of the league table. ## Confirmed playing XIs and Impact Subs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Suyash Sharma, 11 Josh Hazlewood Impact Subs bench: Rasikh Salam Dar, Venkatesh Iyer, Jordan Cox, Mangesh Yadav, Vicky Ostwal Delhi Capitals: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Sameer Rizvi, 4 Axar Patel (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Auqib Nabi, 8 Lungi Ngidi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Mukesh Kumar Impact Subs bench: Vipraj Nigam, Ashutosh Sharma, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Nitish Rana