Delhi Capitals’ Kuldeep Yadav and teammates celebrating (ANI photo)

Delhi Capitals started their IPL 2026 campaign with an impressive 40-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders in a nail-biting encounter. KL Rahul And -Kuldeep Yadav Acted on Sunday. With the defeat of Rajasthan Royals Mumbai Indians Having sealed the final playoff berth earlier in the day, both KKR and Punjab Kings were officially eliminated before the match even began. Delhi Capitals were already eliminated after PBKS’s win over Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, leaving only pride and the final standings to play for at the Eden Gardens. Batting first after the KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane Deciding to bowl, Delhi Capitals scored 203 for 5 at the top thanks to an explosive half-century from Rahul. The DC openers looked in complete control from the start and attacked both pace and spin with ease. Rahul hit five fours and four sixes during his innings of 60 runs in 30 balls and registered his sixth half-century of this season. he specifically targeted Sunil NarineDancing on the track again and again to clear the ropes. In one over, Rahul hit a skyscraper six off Narine over long-on and followed it up with another four over the spinner’s head. After this, Rahul changed his stance further against Karthik Tyagi and completed his half-century in 25 balls by scoring 20 runs by hitting one four and a straight six in one over. At that point, Delhi looked set for a total of over 220. However, KKR managed to regain some control through Anukul Roy, who dismissed Rahul towards the end of the game. Sahil Parakh also scored 24 runs before Axar Patel scored 39 runs, while Varun Chakravarthy returned with 1 for 35 despite continuing to play with a hairline fracture in his left toe. KKR got off to a positive start in their chase, with Rahane taking charge of the side in what could possibly be his final appearance for the franchise. The veteran batsman produced one of his best innings of the season, scoring 63 runs in just 39 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes. Rahane attacked aggressively, hitting Auqib Nabi with consecutive sixes and then repeated the same against Axar Patel, completing a quick half-century in 31 balls. But just when KKR seemed to be gaining momentum, Kuldeep Yadav completely changed the game. Returning to the playing eleven after being dropped and taking no wickets in his last three matches, the left-arm wrist spinner troubled his former team by taking 3 wickets for 29 runs. Kuldeep first dismissed Cameron Green cheaply before creating the decisive moment of the match. Sensing Rahane moving forward, he bowled a bounced ball outside leg stump which fell sharply. Rahane tried to bowl it straight, but only managed to get it past David Miller. On the very next ball, Kuldeep put KKR in complete trouble by dismissing Rinku Singh for zero. He almost completed a hat-trick after Tejaswi Dahiya bowled the next ball, but Abhishek Porel missed the chance behind the stumps. From there, KKR collapsed rapidly and were bowled out for 163 in 18.4 overs, suffering their seventh defeat of the season. Mitchell Starc He impressed against his former franchise with figures of 2 for 26, while Lungi Ngidi dominated the field with figures of 3 for 27. The result helped Delhi Capitals finish sixth on the points table with seven wins and seven losses, above KKR, who finished seventh after another disappointing campaign under Rahane.