Bowlers finally have their day in IPL 2026

Dubai: In a tournament increasingly defined by batting carnage and ballooning totals, the Indian Premier League (IPL) finally swung back in favour of the bowlers on a dramatic night in Delhi.

Just days after a record chase of 265 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar ripped through Delhi Capitals with devastating spells to seal a dominant nine-wicket win for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Delhi’s innings unravelled almost immediately, collapsing to six wickets down for just eight runs inside four overs and stumbling to a record-low powerplay of 13-6, the worst ever in the IPL, on a pitch that offered enough seam movement and uneven bounce for the RCB attack to fully capitalise.

Having won the toss, captain Rajat Patidar made the call to field first, a decision that proved spot on as Delhi’s batting line-up folded under relentless pressure.

There was little resistance as a steady stream of batters trudged back to the pavilion, unable to cope with the precision and discipline of the bowling.

KL Rahul, who had lit up the same ground with an unbeaten 152 just days earlier, fell in the opening over, setting the tone for a collapse that saw three of the top six dismissed for ducks, while the others failed to reach double figures.

Only Abhishek Porel (30) and David Miller (19) showed any semblance of resistance, but by then the damage had long been done, with Delhi effectively beaten inside the first few overs of the contest.

Chasing a modest target, Bengaluru suffered an early setback when Jacob Bethell was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson, but there was never any real danger.

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Virat Kohli (23) and Devdutt Padikkal (34) guided the chase with ease, before Kohli finished things in style, launching T Natarajan for consecutive sixes to wrap up the win in just 6.3 overs.

The result cemented Bengaluru’s hold on second place in the standings, just behind Punjab Kings, while Delhi slipped down to seventh in the 10-team table.

Reflecting on the dramatic turnaround from the high-scoring thriller at the same venue days earlier, player of the match Josh Hazlewood said: “Probably turning up here after 500-plus runs in the last game, you don't expect that.”

He added, “I just followed Bhuvi. There was a little bit there in the first six overs. It was a little bit up and down. Once the ball got soft it became consistent.”