Pathum Nissanka falls for 62 in Delhi Capitals’ chase

pathum nissanka was out for 62 in the 10th over, trimming Delhi Capitals’ opening charge against Rajasthan Royals in an IPL 2026 match built around a 226-run chase. Delhi had been cruising at 78/0 when he brought up his first 50 of the campaign.

Nissanka and KL Rahul

Nissanka opened with KL Rahul and gave Delhi a fast start before his dismissal slowed the innings’ top gear. The wicket arrived after the pair had put the chase in control early, with the Royals still trying to recover from a short burst that had cost them both Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Delhi had named Nissanka in their predicted XI alongside Rahul, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Kyle Jamieson, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav and T Natarajan. That selection put him in a batting order expected to handle pressure after Delhi were bowled out for 75 in 16.3 overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru before this match.

Rajasthan Royals at 225

Rajasthan Royals reached 225 after Donovan Ferreira’s 47-run cameo and a stretch that at one point had Riyan Parag on 77 not out. They had also chased 223 against Punjab Kings earlier in the week, so the target Delhi faced carried recent precedent from both sides of the result column.

For Delhi, the sharp change came when the openers were still 78/0 and Nissanka walked back after his 62. That left the chase in a very different shape from the one they had built in the first nine overs, with Rajasthan having already survived early losses and then piled on enough runs to keep the total hard to reel in.

Delhi Capitals’ chase

The main issue for Delhi now is whether the opening burst was enough after losing one of the two set batters before the middle overs could settle. Nissanka’s 62 gave them a base, but the match had already shown how quickly momentum can swing when one side posts 225 and the other has to answer without much margin for another setback.