Match overview
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on 27 April 2025. Delhi posted 162 for 8 after being put in to bat, a score that sat below the venue's average first-innings total of 185 across 165 matches. RCB's chase was anything but smooth: they stumbled to 35 for 3 in the powerplay before a 79-run wicketless middle phase turned the match decisively in their favour. KH Pandya was named Player of the Match for his contributions in the back half of the innings. The win extends RCB's all-time head-to-head lead over Delhi to 19 wins from 33 meetings.
Delhi's innings had a reasonable shape in the first two phases: 52 runs for 2 in the powerplay and another 56 for 2 through the middle. The collapse came at the death, where they lost 4 wickets for 54 runs and finished well short of what the pitch was offering. On a ground where 185 is the historical norm for the side batting first, 162 left the door open for a side with enough composure to weather an early wobble.
RCB found that composure in the most unusual place: not up front, where they lost Virat Kohli and two others inside the first six overs, but in the middle overs, where they added 79 runs without losing a wicket between overs 7 and 15. It is that passage that separated this from a contest into a result.
Venue and conditions
The Arun Jaitley Stadium has hosted 165 T20 matches and carries a clear statistical story. The average first-innings score sits at 185, but the average second-innings score drops to 165, which reflects how conditions tend to ease at night and how the chasing side benefits from a known target. Teams choose to field first here 59% of the time, and that instinct is broadly backed by a chase success rate of 56%.
The powerplay average at this ground is 44 runs. Both sides diverged from that: Delhi scored 52 in the powerplay with 2 wickets down, a slightly positive return; RCB managed only 35 with 3 wickets gone, a genuine underperformance. The ground also sees significant death-overs activity: the average of 37 runs in that phase was exceeded by both teams (54 by Delhi, 51 by RCB), suggesting the pitch had reasonable pace throughout.
Dew is a factor at evening fixtures in Delhi, particularly from March to May. Fielding sides often find grip deteriorates under lights, which is part of why chasing totals around 162 is more achievable here than the raw average might imply.
How to watch
IPL 2025 matches are broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Cricket. Streaming is available through Sky Go for existing subscribers and via a NOW TV sports day or month pass for those without a full Sky package. Evening fixtures in India, which start at 19:30 IST, typically begin at 14:00 BST; afternoon fixtures at 15:30 IST kick off at 10:00 BST. Check the Sky Sports schedule for the confirmed UK time of each game.
Recent form
Delhi Capitals arrived at this fixture with a mixed run: wins against Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore sandwiched around three consecutive defeats against Gujarat Titans, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. Their win over RCB earlier in 2025 showed they are capable of beating the top sides, but that inconsistency has made it difficult to read where they sit in the standings.
RCB came in with four wins from their last five, their only defeat in that sequence being the loss to Delhi referenced above. Victories over Rajasthan Royals (twice) and Punjab Kings, alongside a loss to Punjab Kings, painted a picture of a side in decent rhythm without being flawless. The win at Arun Jaitley on 27 April reinforces that picture. RCB's next fixture will offer a clearer sense of whether this middle-overs revival represents a settled batting approach or a one-match anomaly.
