Big picture
IPL 2026 so far has been about a five-team leading pack, followed by five more trying to chase them. But results over the weekend mean that a win on Tuesday for one of seventh-placed Delhi Capitals (DC) or sixth-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would put them just two points away from second place.
An optimist would take that after the kind of season both sides have had. DC have lost two games - against Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings - that seemed unlosable at one point, while CSK had a sluggish start combined with injuries across the board that left them playing catch-up.
But both teams come to the Arun Jaitley Stadium on the back of comprehensive victories. After being bundled out for 75 at home against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DC cruised to a chase of 226 against Rajasthan Royals. CSK overcame a meek defeat at home to GT by taking down Mumbai Indians with eight wickets to spare.
They are also looking like a team that knows how to move forward. For DC, KL Rahul is finally getting support from the other batters, while they have zeroed in on Nitish Rana as No. 3. Mitchell Starc's three-for in his first game for DC has added an edge to their bowling. CSK, meanwhile, are batting around Ruturaj Gaikwad and are showing faith in their new buy Kartik Sharma. Some impactful runs from Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis would just elevate CSK from here on.
CSK have been bad travellers this season with a 1-3 win-loss record, but they did beat DC convincingly by 23 runs on April 11. Can they do the double and inch closer to the top four?
Form guide
Delhi Capitals WLLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings WLWLW
Key question
Team news: Ngidi fit, but still no MSD
DC have confirmed that Lungi Ngidi is "100% fit" and has recovered from the neck injury and head concussion he suffered while fielding on April 25. He could swap in for Kyle Jamieson right away. Sahil Parakh has not yet recovered from his facial injury and Pathum Nissanka should continue as opener. David Miller is expected to be on the bench.
Delhi Capitals 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 KL Rahul (wk), 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 Ashutosh Sharma, 6 Sameer Rizvi, 7 Axar Patel (capt), 8 Vipraj Nigam/Auqib Nabi, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Kuldeep Yadav, 12 T Natarajan
MS Dhoni has not travelled to Delhi. He is still dealing with a stubborn calf injury and there are no timelines for his return. CSK have to decide between Urvil Patel and Sarfaraz Khan for one batting spot. Ramakrishna Ghosh, their debutant from the MI fixture, has suffered a foot fracture and is out of the tournament. CSK are yet to name a replacement.
Chennai Super Kings: 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Sarfaraz Khan/Urvil Patel, 4 Kartik Sharma, 5 Dewald Brevis, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Jamie Overton, 8 Prashant Veer, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Anshul Kamboj, 11 Akash Madhwal/Gurjapneet Singh, 12 Mukesh Choudhary
In the spotlight: Nitish Rana and Akeal Hosein
Nitish Rana is a batter transformed. Originally selected, then dropped, and again brought into the side, Rana has scored 182 runs at a strike rate of 182 in his last four games, including two fifties. His improved game against good-length and back-of-good-length deliveries has been one reason behind his apparent ease at the crease, and his performances have also reflected in DC's strong recent run with the bat.
Akeal Hosein's arm ball has been devastating against right-hand batters since 2024, earning him 21 wickets at an economy of 6.2. But he has lost that potency in IPL 2026, taking no wickets with the arm ball and going at 10.50 per over. His success with the stock delivery, though - economy 6.8 and four wickets - against right-hand batters means he remains a threat against DC's two right-hand openers.
Pitch and conditions
This is the first game on pitch no. 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this season. Across the last two seasons, the team batting first has a 3-2 record, even though the toss decision has been to chase in seven of the last eight games. When India played on this deck at the T20 World Cup, they scored 209 for 9 before skittling Namibia out for 116.
Stats and trivia
Anshul Kamboj is the second-highest-ranked Indian bowler on ESPNcricinfo's MVP list for the season. His bowling average of 15.82 is the second-best among all bowlers (min. 20 overs). He is also second in the Purple Cap race. On all these metrics, he is only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
DC's bowlers have been poor in the powerplay. They are last in the rankings for balls-per-wicket (36) and second-last on wickets taken (nine).
CSK could target Rana with quick bowlers. In the 14 straight IPL games before being dropped, his strike rate was 100 against 140-plus-kph deliveries; he still strikes at only 93 against that pace in the last four games, despite bouncing back into form.
