IPL 2026: DC to 'try bench players' after another crushing defeat

After an 8-wicket defeat to KKR, Delhi Capitals' Director of Cricket Venugopal Rao said the team will try bench players for the next three must-win games to stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race, lamenting failure in all departments.

DC mulls changes after another defeat

Delhi Capitals (DC) suffered yet another defeat in the IPL 2026 when they got dismantled by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which handed them an eight-wicket defeat at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday. Speaking at the post-match press conference after the defeat, DC's Director of Cricket, Venugopal Rao, stressed making changes in the lineup for the next matches as DC find themselves at eighth place with four wins in 11 games. They desperately need to win their next three matches with a good margin to stay alive in the race for the playoffs.

On making changes in the lineup, Rao said, "The next three games we'll see how it goes, one game at a time. We'll try bench players. I think that is something we definitely want to try."

Batting collapse after explosive start

Asked to bat first, DC made 142/8 despite an explosive start from the openers. Pathum Nissanka made 50 off 29 balls with the help of three sixes and five fours, and KL Rahul made 23 off 14 balls. Axar Patel (11 off 22 balls) and Ashutosh Sharma (39 off 28 balls) took DC to a competitive total. No other batter made a two-digit score for DC.

Speaking about the areas of concern, Rao said, "Not one department, I think three departments failed today. After getting a good start, after seven or eight overs, we were in a good position, one wicket or something down. Then later in the next six to seven overs, we couldn't get a boundary. In this big beast of a tournament, you can't miss chances. We need to win patches, we need to win those small areas, not only in batting, but also in bowling or fielding, whatever it is."

KKR cruise to victory

KKR chased down the target with eight wickets and 5.4 overs to spare, thanks to the maiden IPL century by Finn Allen. After losing two consecutive matches, DC will take on Punjab Kings in their next match in Dharamsala on Monday, whereas KKR will clash with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Raipur on Wednesday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)