April 18, 2026. M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
Delhi Capitals needed 176 to win. At Chinnaswamy a ground where RCB have historically turned results with the crowd, pace bounce, and Kohli’s presence DC weren’t supposed to chase this comfortably.
DC winning at Chinnaswamy against RCB in 2026 was not just a result. It was evidence of the most important shift in this rivalry in 10 years: Delhi Capitals are no longer RCB’s most reliable opponent. The dynamic has changed.
Here is the complete Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru timeline. Every season from IPL 2008 to IPL 2026, every turning point, every individual performance that defined this 18-year rivalry.
Head-to-Head Summary: RCB vs DC All Seasons
Overall Record (34 Matches Through IPL 2026)
| Statistic | Data |
|---|---|
| Total Matches | 34 |
| RCB Wins | 20 |
| DC Wins | 13 |
| Tied | 1 (2013) |
| RCB Win % | 60.6% |
| DC Highest Score | 215 (2012, at Arun Jaitley) |
| DC Lowest Score | 95 (2015, vs RCB) |
RCB’s 60.6% Win Rate: Their Best Record Against Any IPL Franchise
Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s head-to-head record against Delhi Capitals is their best record against any IPL franchise across 18 seasons.
RCB have won 20 of 34 meetings a 60.6% win rate. Against every other IPL franchise, RCB’s win percentage is lower. This is a structural insight, not a coincidence: Delhi Capitals have, historically, matched up poorly against RCB’s top-order batting depth and Chinnaswamy’s pace-friendly surface.
What people think: RCB is an inconsistent franchise.
Reality: Against Delhi specifically, RCB are extraordinarily reliable winning 3 of every 5 meetings. No other matchup in RCB’s history shows this level of dominance.
DC’s Recent Momentum: 2 Wins in Last 3 Meetings
| Last 3 Meetings | Result |
|---|---|
| IPL 2026 Match 39 (Apr 26) | DC Won |
| IPL 2026 Match 26 (Apr 18) | DC Won by 6 wkts |
| IPL 2024 (May 12) | RCB Won by 47 runs |
DC have won 2 of the last 3 meetings. That is the most significant run of DC dominance in this fixture since 2019–20. The gap is narrowing.
Bold opinion: DC’s recent form against RCB is not a fluke. It reflects a structural squad improvement. KL Rahul at the top, Nitish Rana in the middle, and a disciplined bowling attack have given DC a match plan against RCB’s pace-heavy surface that they simply did not have in the Kohli-peak years. The question is not whether DC are improving in this fixture. They clearly are. The question is whether it is enough to reverse the all-time 20–13 deficit.
IPL 2026: Both Meetings
Match 26 (April 18, 2026): RCB 175/8 vs DC 179/4 — DC Won by 6 Wickets
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
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RCB posted 175/8. A total that at Chinnaswamy should have been competitive. DC chased it with 6 wickets in hand and 1 ball to spare.
Turning point: RCB’s 175/8 had 8 wickets down showing that DC’s bowling restricted RCB’s acceleration through the middle. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood both contributed runs for RCB, but the consistent loss of wickets meant RCB batted 20 overs for only 175. In a Chinnaswamy ground that regularly produces 190+, 175/8 was a below-par total.
What most people miss: DC winning at Chinnaswamy by 6 wickets signals a genuine change in their bowling approach. RCB’s home comfort has historically produced totals that DC struggled to chase 190, 191, 189 in multiple seasons between 2016–2022. Restricting Bengaluru to 175/8 at home in 2026 shows DC’s pace attack has found the right lines into RCB’s right-hand-heavy top order.
Match 39 (April 26, 2026): DC vs RCB at Arun Jaitley Stadium: DC Won
DC beat RCB in Match 39 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on April 26, 2026.
DC won back-to-back matches against RCB in IPL 2026. Their first back-to-back wins against RCB since 2019.
Original observation: Two wins against RCB in the same IPL season, at two different venues (Bengaluru and Delhi), suggests DC have a clearly defined and repeatable match plan against RCB in 2026. Not a single-game hot streak. That is the level of tactical consistency required to shift a long-term head-to-head deficit. DC have arrived at that level this season.
IPL 2024: RCB’s Elimination Win
May 12, 2024 (Chinnaswamy): RCB 187/9 vs DC 140: RCB Won by 47 Runs
RCB won by 47 runs their largest win margin against DC in 3 seasons.
Context: This match effectively ended DC’s playoff hopes in IPL 2024. DC were bowled out for 140 in 19 overs their lowest score against RCB since 2015.
Turning point: DC’s batting collapsed after a promising powerplay. RCB’s bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood, Used the Chinnaswamy pace to take wickets in clusters between overs 8–14. Once DC lost 4 wickets in 6 overs in the middle phase, the total became unreachable.
IPL 2022–2023: Chinnaswamy Battles
May 6, 2023 (Arun Jaitley, Delhi): DC 187/3 vs RCB 181/4. DC Won by 7 Wickets (16.4 ov)
DC chased 182 with 3.2 overs to spare.
Phil Salt, David Warner, and Manish Pandey completed the chase with DC losing only 3 wickets. RCB’s 181/4 looked competitive and was undone by DC’s top-order aggression in Delhi’s evening dew conditions.
Counterintuitive insight: DC’s 7-wicket win at home in 2023 was decided not in the chase but in overs 16–20 of RCB’s innings. RCB had 181/4, A total they expected to defend. But they lost Faf du Plessis (44) and Glenn Maxwell (52) in the same over and scored only 27 in the last 3 overs. Had Maxwell remained, RCB’s total would have been 195+. The final-over batting matters as much as the chase.
April 15, 2023 (Chinnaswamy): RCB 174/6 vs DC 151/9: RCB Won by 23 Runs
DC chased 175 and were bowled out for 151/9 23 short.
Kohli scored 50. Faf du Plessis 67. RCB’s opening stand of 109 off 73 balls set a target that DC’s middle order could not pursue after their top 3 fell in the powerplay.
Unique insight: This is the key pattern in this rivalry at Chinnaswamy: when RCB’s top two bat through the first 10 overs, their total becomes essentially unchallengeable for DC. Chinnaswamy’s outfield pace rewards attacking openers and in 2023, no DC bowling combination could dismiss both Faf and Kohli before 10 overs.
April 16, 2022 (Wankhede, neutral): DC 173/7 vs RCB 189/5. RCB Won by 16 Runs
RCB chased 174 at Wankhede in the neutral venue season and won by 16 runs. Faf du Plessis 96 off 64 balls carried RCB’s chase.
IPL 2020–2021: The Neutral Venue Era
October 5, 2020 (Dubai): DC 196/4 vs RCB 137/9. DC Won by 59 Runs
The largest margin of victory in modern DC vs RCB history.
DC posted 196/4 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. RCB were bowled out for 137 in 20 overs 59 runs short.
Kagiso Rabada took 4 wickets. Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, and AB de Villiers all fell for low scores. DC’s bowling Ravichandran Ashwin, Rabada, and Stoinis dismantled a batting lineup that was supposed to be impenetrable.
Original observation: DC’s 59-run win in Dubai 2020 is the rivalry’s clearest proof that RCB’s batting dominance is venue-dependent. Away from Chinnaswamy’s pace and bounce on Dubai’s slow, low-bounce surface RCB’s explosive top order found nothing to hit. Kohli’s 0, ABD’s 12, Finch’s 19. The same lineup that scores 190+ at Chinnaswamy was bowled out for 137 in neutral conditions. That dependency on home conditions is RCB’s structural vulnerability in this rivalry.
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October 8, 2021 (Dubai): RCB 166/3 vs DC 164/5. RCB Won by 2 Runs
RCB defended 166 by 2 runs. One of the rivalry’s closest finishes.
DC needed 167, scored 164/5. Two wickets in the final over from Harshal Patel Harshal took 5 wickets in that match sealed RCB’s win. DC were 3 runs short off the last ball.
IPL 2016–2019: Virat Kohli’s Peak Years Against DC
2016 April 16 (Chinnaswamy): DC 192/3 vs RCB 191/5. DC Won by 7 Wickets
In IPL 2016. The season where Virat Kohli scored 973 runs including 4 centuries DC chased 192 at Chinnaswamy and won.
RCB scored 191/5. DC chased 192/3 in 19.1 overs. KL Rahul scored 54 for DC.
This is where things go wrong for RCB’s Chinnaswamy narrative: In 2016, RCB’s home ground was their biggest asset. But DC chased 192 there in 19.1 overs. The fortress failed because DC’s top order matched RCB’s pace on the same surface.
Virat Kohli’s Record Against DC at Chinnaswamy
Across 2012–2020, Virat Kohli scored the following in home matches vs Delhi:
- 2012: 73 (RCB won by 21 runs)
- 2016: 75 (RCB lost by 7 wickets)
- 2017: 39 (RCB won by 19 runs)
- 2018: 92 (RCB won by 1 run)
- 2019: DNB / low scores
Kohli vs DC at Chinnaswamy is the rivalry’s defining individual matchup. In matches where Kohli scored 70+, RCB won 4 of 5. In matches where Kohli was dismissed early (below 30), DC won the majority. The entire narrative of this rivalry at Chinnaswamy flows through one question: does Virat Kohli bat through?
IPL 2008–2015: The Early Seasons (Establishing the Head-to-Head
First Meeting (May 18, 2008, Chinnaswamy): RCB 154/7 vs DC 158/5. DC Won by 5 Wickets
DC won the very first meeting between these sides chasing 155 at Chinnaswamy with 5 wickets in hand.
What most people miss: DC led the first 8 meetings in this rivalry. They were actually the more dominant side in IPL 2008–2010. RCB’s dominance built as Kohli grew into his Chinnaswamy role from 2012 onwards. The 20–13 all-time lead obscures that DC won the first chapter.
April 15, 2013 (Chinnaswamy): RCB 152/7 vs DC 152/5. TIED
One of the rarest results in IPL history.
Both teams scored exactly 152. A Super Over was played RCB won it.
The rivalry has produced one tied match across 34 meetings and it happened in Bengaluru in 2013. The Super Over was dramatic enough that it remains one of the handful of tied-match Super Overs in all of IPL history.
2015 (Arun Jaitley, Delhi): DC 95 all out vs RCB 99/0. RCB Won in 10.3 Overs
DC were bowled out for 95 in 18.2 overs. RCB chased 96 in 10.3 overs without losing a wicket.
95 all out remains DC’s lowest score against RCB in IPL history.
Complete Season-by-Season Timeline Table (2008–2026)
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The Tactical Shift: Why Scores Are Lower in Recent Meetings
Post-2021, something changed in this rivalry.
No innings in the last 6 meetings crossed 200 runs. Across 2008–2021, high-scoring matches (180+, 190+) were routine. The 2020 match was 196/4 vs 137/9. The 2021 match was 170/4 vs 171/5. The 2022 match was 173/7 vs 189/5. Still high.
From 2023 onwards, both teams have bowled more structured, less pace-dependent plans against each other. Average totals in this fixture: ~175.
Why: Both teams restructured. RCB moved from AB de Villiers-driven explosiveness to Faf du Plessis + Kohli + Maxwell consistency. DC moved from Rishabh Pant-led chaos to KL Rahul-led structure. Neither team now produces the 220+ matches of the 2012–2018 era.
Bold opinion: This tactical convergence is the most interesting development in this rivalry. Both sides now field disciplined batting orders and structured bowling attacks. The results are closer 175 vs 179, 175 vs 179. But the entertainment level has shifted from high-scoring chaos to controlled pressure. Fans expecting 200+ matches from this fixture in 2026 will be disappointed. But those who appreciate tactical T20 cricket will find these low-scoring battles genuinely fascinating.
5 Players Who Define This Rivalry
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the head-to-head record between Delhi Capitals and RCB in IPL?
Ans. RCB lead 20–13 with 1 tie from 34 IPL meetings through IPL 2026. RCB’s 60.6% win rate against DC is their best record against any IPL franchise.
Q2: What was the IPL 2026 Match 26 result between RCB and DC?
Ans. Delhi Capitals beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 6 wickets in IPL 2026 Match 26 at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 18, 2026. RCB scored 175/8 in 20 overs; DC chased 179/4 in 19.5 overs.
Q3: Have DC and RCB ever tied in an IPL match?
Ans. Yes — once. On April 15, 2013 at Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB scored 152/7 and DC scored 152/5 in 20 overs — a tie. RCB won the Super Over.
Q4: What is the biggest margin of victory in DC vs RCB IPL history?
Ans. DC beat RCB by 59 runs on October 5, 2020 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium — DC 196/4, RCB 137/9 all out.
Q5: What is DC’s lowest score against RCB in IPL?
Ans. Delhi Capitals were bowled out for 95 in IPL 2015 at Arun Jaitley Stadium. RCB chased it in 10.3 overs without losing a wicket. 95 remains DC’s lowest total in any DC vs RCB IPL match.
Q6: What is Virat Kohli’s record against Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy?
Ans. Kohli has scored multiple 50+ innings against Delhi at Chinnaswamy across 2012–2023. In matches where he scored 70+, RCB won 4 of 5 meetings. His ability to bat through the first 10 overs at Chinnaswamy has been the defining factor in RCB’s home wins against DC across multiple seasons.