The race for the playoffs in IPL 2026 is now becoming quite interesting. The picture is changing with every match. The match between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Tuesday, May 5 is going to be very important for both the teams. This match is the 48th match of IPL 2026, which will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Delhi’s star batsman KL Rahul is in tremendous form at the moment. This season, he is second in the list of highest run scorers. In such a situation, it is going to be a big challenge for CSK to get him out early, because if Rahul survives then he can single-handedly change the course of the match.
Whichever team wins this match can make a big jump in the points table. Both Delhi and Chennai have played 9-9 matches so far, out of which they have won 4-4 and lost 5-5. The difference is the net run rate of CSK is +0.005 while that of DC is -0.895. For this reason, Chennai is currently at sixth position and Delhi is at seventh. Overall, the journey of both the teams this season has been full of ups and downs.
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CSK’s game plan for KL Rahul
The biggest challenge for Chennai in this match will be to stop the in-form KL Rahul. Rahul’s strike rate in the first 10 balls has reached 147.76 and he has played two big innings of unbeaten 152 and 92 runs on Delhi grounds this season. Chennai’s strategy will be to get him out in the powerplay itself, for which the team can bet on Anshul Kamboj. Kamboj’s performance against right-handed batsmen during the powerplay this season has been excellent.
KL Rahul has so far scored 433 runs in 9 matches at an average of 54.12, which includes one century and three half-centuries. He remains in the race for the Orange Cap.
Also read: Rohit Sharma destroyed LSG, hit 84 runs in 44 balls, a series of records
Arun Jaitley Stadium pitch report
The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium has traditionally been helpful to the batsmen. However, due to recent rains the pitch has been under cover for long periods. Which can help the bowlers in the initial overs. There is less chance of rain during the match, so the team winning the toss may prefer to bowl first. Only a score of more than 225 can be considered safe on this ground.
DC vs CSK Probable Playing XI
- Delhi Capitals (DC): KL Rahul (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Abhishek Porel/Vipraj Nigam, Axar Patel (captain), Ashutosh Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav.
- Chennai Super Kings (CSK):Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Urvil Patel, Karthik Sharma, Dewald Brewis, Shivam Dubey, Jamie Overton, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmed, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Chaudhary.
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