IPL 2026: David Miller's timely redemption leads to RCB's first loss at home

Match Overview

Delhi Capitals (DC) have jumped two places to fourth on the IPL 2026 points table as they defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in match No. 26 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium by six wickets and a ball to spare on Saturday, April 18.

David Miller, who looked inconsolable in Delhi's one-run loss to Gujarat Titans at the Arun Jaitley on April 8, redeemed himself at Chinnaswamy, playing an absolute blinder to score 22* off 10 at a strike rate of 220.00 and sealed a tense finish.

Chasing 176, Delhi needed 15 off the final over with Miller and Tristan Stubbs in the middle. RCB skipper Rajat Patidar handed the ball to Romario Shepherd, who hadn't bowled an over before, and it told.

Shepherd began well, conceding two singles off the first two balls, but bowled a full toss and got deposited into the stands over deep midwicket for a six by Miller. 

Shepherd followed it up with a fullish ball outside off, right into Miller's hitting arc, and the Protea tonked him for another maximum over cover. Miller finished the game with a boundary off the penultimate ball on the on-side to hand RCB their second loss of the season and first at home.

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Delhi's chase had gotten off to a very rocky start as they were three down for just 18 in 2.5 overs and were staring down the barrel. However, KL Rahul (57 off 34) and Tristan Stubbs (60* off 47) added 69 for the fourth wicket and brought DC's chase back on track.

The game turned on its head yet again on the first ball of the 11th over when Rahul holed out to long-off while trying to go over cover to a flatter, fuller and quicker (103 kph) delivery from Krunal Pandya. Stubbs then added an unbeaten 47 with Axar Patel before the latter had to retire hurt in the 16th over to add another twist in the tale.

But Stubbs and Miller brought the game close, and the latter showcased why he is still among the most destructive in world cricket.

Earlier in the day, DC chose to field and were largely disciplined in terms of their line and length and kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Phil Salt played a 38-ball 63 with four boundaries and three sixes but never really got enough support at the other end.

Tim David played a cameo (17-ball 26) and became the second-fastest to 1000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced (560). Axar was the pick of all the DC bowlers as he conceded just 18 in three overs and claimed two wickets. Kuldeep Yadav and Lungi Ngidi also pocketed two wickets apiece.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Tristan Stubbs

Stubbs played with a lot of composure and held the innings together beautifully. He was unfazed by the fluctuation in the required run rate and kept finding the boundaries whenever the game seemed to drift away.

Turning Point

The game was sitting on the knife-edge till the last over. But it tilted ever so slightly in favour of Delhi Capitals when Patidar tossed the ball to Romario Shepherd. Shepherd started brilliantly, but his lack of exposure to such tense moments proved the difference.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, KL Rahul (stand-in captain) (DC)

"Wicket did a bit early on. I could see Virat and Salt not happy with the way the ball was coming on and we lost three wickets in the powerplay. Overall a good game of cricket. The conversation was to try and keep playing good cricket shots and how we can find the boundaries. We didn't want to go into a shell and the run rate keeps going up. We didn't want to take it too deep and try and put the pressure on the bowlers. There was faith in Stubbs and Miller. They do this on the daily for South Africa and franchise cricket. We also knew the last over would be a gamble for RCB and we knew it would be Shepherd or Suyash bowling so we had a good chance. Ideally we didn't want to take it into the 20th over, but we'll take the win."

Losing Team Captain, Rajat Patidar (RCB)

"That was really close but I feel that we were 15-20 runs short. The way we started, especially VK bhai and Salt, they gave a good start. Then we started losing wickets and it put us on the back foot. [Did they go too hard at it?] I think the pitch was a bit tacky but I think the way we stretched the game to the last over was a positive sign for us. I was just discussing with the bowler to be clear in what you do. It's a long tournament but we'll go back and introspect on our errors and rectify them."