Delhi Capitals Kalahkan Rajasthan Royals Lima Wicket di IPL 2026

Delhi Capitals menjaga peluang lolos ke babak playoff setelah berhasil mengalahkan Rajasthan Royals dengan keunggulan lima wicket dalam pertandingan lanjutan IPL 2026 di Stadion Arun Jaitley, Delhi, pada Minggu, 17 Mei 2026.

Kemenangan ini membuat Delhi Capitals kembali naik ke peringkat ketujuh dalam klasemen sementara yang berisi sepuluh tim. Keberhasilan tersebut dipicu oleh aksi cemerlang pempar bola Mitchell Starc pada babak pertama, yang membatasi perolehan angka Rajasthan Royals menjadi 193/8 sebelum Delhi Capitals mengejarnya saat laga menyisakan empat bola.

Asisten pelatih utama Rajasthan Royals, Vikram Rathour, mengakui performa Starc pada over ke-15 menjadi titik balik kekalahan timnya. Rajasthan Royals yang awalnya berada di posisi kuat 160/2 harus kehilangan empat wicket secara beruntun, termasuk tiga wicket dalam satu over yang dilemparkan oleh Starc.

"I completely agree. We were at least 20 runs short, if not more. I thought we were 160 in 14 overs and lost two wickets. From there, we should have got 220. Again losing three wickets in one over doesn't help. So we could have been a bit smarter with our decisions we took in that over." ujar Vikram Rathour, Asisten Pelatih Utama Rajasthan Royals.

Keputusan para pemukul Rajasthan Royals dinilai kurang tepat karena terburu-buru mengambil risiko di saat momentum pertandingan sedang krusial.

"So those are the learnings and in every game, you will make mistakes and the idea is to learn from those mistakes and I hope the next time we are in a similar situation, we get a better result. Again, that over definitely changed the result for us." kata Vikram Rathour, Asisten Pelatih Utama Rajasthan Royals.

Meskipun mengakui kualitas kelas dunia dari Starc, Rathour menegaskan bahwa timnya memiliki opsi strategi lain yang seharusnya bisa memperpanjang jalannya pertandingan.

"Obviously he's a world class bowler. He's a world class bowler, but the kind of options we took in that over, were poor. We could have done differently and given ourselves a little more time to get through that over and take the game a little deeper" tambah Vikram Rathour, Asisten Pelatih Utama Rajasthan Royals.

Mantan penjaga gawang dan pemukul asal Afrika Selatan, Mark Boucher, turut memberikan analisis serupa mengenai dampak besar dari kembalinya Starc ke area lemparan.

"At one stage, Rajasthan Royals looked set for a total close to 230 after the kind of Powerplay they had. Mitchell Starc hadn't quite found his rhythm early on, but when he came back, he completely changed the game with his variations in pace and execution under pressure." ujar Mark Boucher, Mantan Penjaga Gawang Afrika Selatan melalui siaran JioHotstar.

Boucher menilai variasi kecepatan dan ketenangan Starc di bawah tekanan tinggi berhasil meredam agresivitas pukulan lawan yang awalnya berpotensi mencetak skor sangat besar.

"That over, where he picked up three wickets, shifted the momentum entirely and pulled Rajasthan back from what looked like a massive total. A few of the batters might feel they played their shots too early, but there's no doubt that spell changed the complexion of the game and ultimately kept the target within Delhi Capitals' reach" kata Mark Boucher, Mantan Penjaga Gawang Afrika Selatan.

Selain performa Starc, pengamat kriket dan mantan pemutar kaki India, Piyush Chawla, memuji penampilan pemain muda Madhav Tiwari yang sukses mengambil wicket krusial dari Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dan Shubham Dubey menggunakan teknik lemparan lambat.

"Madhav Tiwari has been extremely impressive, not just in this game but in the previous match as well. For a youngster with limited first‑class experience, he already seems to have a lot of variety in his bowling." kata Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Chawla mengagumi tingkat kepercayaan diri Tiwari yang mampu mengeksekusi strategi lemparan dengan matang di momen-momen penentu.

"But the key is having the confidence to execute those options at the right moments, and he's doing that with remarkable ease. Even in Dharamshala, where bowlers were going for plenty, he smartly used his slower balls into the pitch and delivered an important spell. In this game again, just when Rajasthan Royals were building momentum, he picked up the crucial wicket of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and helped slow the scoring rate." ujar Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Chawla juga memberikan pujian kepada Abishek Porel yang mencetak 51 angka dan membangun kemitraan pembuka sebesar 105 angka bersama KL Rahul yang mengoleksi 56 angka untuk mempermudah proses pengejaran target.

"Abishek Porel's innings was extremely impressive because despite not getting too many opportunities this season, he came in with complete positive intent." ucap Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Gaya bermain agresif dari Porel dianggap berhasil menghilangkan tekanan dari pundak KL Rahul sejak awal babak kedua.

"What stood out was the way he ensured there was no pressure on KL Rahul at the other end. Whenever the ball was in his zone, he was willing to take his chances and play the attacking shots, which was very important in a chase of over 190. Considering how the first innings played out, that aggressive start made a big difference for Delhi Capitals." kata Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Beralih ke laga berikutnya yang mempertemukan Sunrisers Hyderabad melawan Chennai Super Kings, Chawla memprediksi keunggulan tipis bagi Hyderabad akibat badai cedera yang menimpa tim lawan.

"Sunrisers Hyderabad have a slight edge going into this game, mainly because Jamie Overton's injury is a significant setback for Chennai Super Kings. He was playing an important role for CSK in the middle overs with the ball and was also contributing valuable runs lower down the order." ujar Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Kehilangan pemain serbabisa seperti Overton diakui Chawla akan menyulitkan keseimbangan formasi tim Chennai Super Kings.

"Replacing that kind of all‑round impact won't be easy. Spencer Johnson can strengthen the bowling, but he doesn't offer the same batting depth, so it will be interesting to see whether CSK stick with the same combination or look at making changes for such an important game." kata Piyush Chawla, Mantan Pemutar Kaki India.

Di sisi lain, kapten Delhi Capitals, Axar Patel, memenangkan lemparan koin dan memilih untuk menjaga area luar terlebih dahulu serta memberikan kesempatan debut bagi pemutar muda asal Andhra Pradesh, Tripurana Vijay.

Pemain berusia 24 tahun kelahiran 5 September 2001 di Tekkali tersebut menarik perhatian pemandu bakat Delhi Capitals setelah menorehkan 10 wicket dalam satu pertandingan domestik Ranji Trophy melawan Rajasthan, sebelum akhirnya direkrut dalam lelang besar IPL 2026.

Sementara itu dari kubu lawan, kapten Rajasthan Royals, Riyan Parag, mencetak 51 angka dari 26 bola yang dilengkapi lima pukulan bernilai enam angka. Catatan tersebut membawa Parag menjadi pemain kelima dalam sejarah Rajasthan Royals yang menembus rekor 100 pukulan enam angka di kompetisi IPL, menyusul nama besar lain seperti Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shane Watson, dan Yashasvi Jaiswal, berdasarkan data statistik dari ESPNcricinfo.

Kekalahan ini memaksa Rajasthan Royals harus memenangkan tiga pertandingan tersisa mereka demi mengamankan tiket menuju babak empat besar atau playoff IPL 2026.