Axar Patel’s men can score more than 260, and still manage to lose. In the very next match, they can also get dismissed for 75.
They could chase down a target of 226 without fuss, too, as they did on Friday night against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, posting a badly-needed win — with seven wickets and five balls to spare — to stay in contention in the IPL.
An opening-wicket stand of 110 off 57 balls between K.L. Rahul and Pathum Nissanka ensured Capitals’s chase was on the right track. An unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 49 between Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma finished the job for the Capitals.
The tone was set by the returning Sri Lankan, who justified the faith put in him by his team. A one-bounce boundary over mid-on was followed right up by a lovely wristy flick for six against the formidable Jofra Archer in the opening over.
Rahul (75, 40b, 6×4, 5×6) also produced some delectable sixes, including a swivelled pull against Archer and a loft over long-off against Ravi Bishnoi. The partnership came to an end when Nissanka (62, 33b, 6×4, 3×6) was trapped in front, while reverse-sweeping Ravindra Jadeja.
Earlier, Riyan Parag (90, 50b, 8×4, 5×6) played a captain’s knock, after Royals lost both its in-form openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal within the first two overs. The wunderkind was yorked by Kyle Jamieson, who appeared to have given his much shorter victim something of a send-off. The Kiwi could do well to remember how Suryavanshi replied to Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Praful Hinge.
Before that, Mitchell Starc, playing his first game of the season, removed Jaiswal, who was undone by the pace of a full toss and skied a return catch. The stage was set for Parag, who came into the match with a previous best of 29 and a fine for vaping inside the dressing room.
He showed courage under fire, but it still wasn’t his night. Even Donovan Ferreira’s 47 not out (14b, 2×4, 6×6) could not help.
Published on May 01, 2026
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