Sameer Rizvi did it again. Coming in as Delhi Capitals’ Impact Player substitute for the second straight match, Rizvi scored 90 off 51 balls — his third consecutive Player of the Match award across IPL 2025 and 2026 — to guide Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on April 4, 2026. It was the 8th match of the IPL 2026 season, and a slow, black-soil pitch that kept the first six of the Mumbai innings until the last ball of the seventh over set the tone for a low-scoring battle that only Rizvi could truly master. Delhi chased down 163 with 11 balls to spare despite losing KL Rahul and Nitish Rana in the first two overs.
Match Summary
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Tournament | IPL 2026 — 8th Match |
| Venue | Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi |
| Date | April 4, 2026 |
| Toss | Delhi Capitals won — elected to bowl |
| Result | Delhi Capitals won by 6 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) |
| Player of the Match | Sameer Rizvi (DC) — 90 (51) |
Note: Hardik Pandya was absent for Mumbai Indians due to illness. Suryakumar Yadav led Mumbai Indians at the toss and throughout the match.
1st Innings: Mumbai Indians — 162/6 (20 overs)
On a slow, difficult black-soil pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Mumbai Indians struggled to build partnerships and find timing. The first six of the innings did not arrive until the last ball of the seventh over — a striking reflection of how difficult the surface was to score on. Ryan Rickelton started aggressively, hitting two boundaries off Mukesh Kumar before the pacer bounced back to dismiss him in the second over. Tilak Varma fell in the same over to a knuckleball, and Mumbai were 18 for 2 in the power play. Rohit Sharma (35) and Suryakumar Yadav (51) steadied the innings with a 53-run stand, but neither was able to bat deep enough to set a genuinely challenging target. Naman Dhir contributed 28 lower in the order, and Mitchell Santner and C. Bosch were unbeaten at the end as Mumbai posted 162 for 6.
Mumbai Indians Batting Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Rickelton (wk) | c mid-off b Mukesh Kumar | — | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| Rohit Sharma | — | 35 | — | — | — | — |
| Tilak Varma | c & b Mukesh Kumar | — | — | — | — | — |
| Suryakumar Yadav (c) | — | 51 | 36 | — | — | — |
| Sherfane Rutherford | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Naman Dhir | — | 28 | — | — | — | — |
| Mitchell Santner | not out | 18 | — | — | — | — |
| C. Bosch | not out | 11 | — | — | — | — |
Fall of Wickets: 1-18 (Ryan Rickelton, 2.3 ov) | 2-18 (Tilak Varma, 2.5 ov) | 3-71 (Rohit Sharma, 9.3 ov) | 4-85 (Sherfane Rutherford, 11.5 ov) | 5-122 (Suryakumar Yadav, 15.3 ov) | 6-146 (Naman Dhir, 18.4 ov)
Total: 162/6 (20 overs)
Key innings notes: The most notable feature of Mumbai’s innings was how quickly the top order fell — two wickets in three balls in the third over left Mumbai rebuilding from 18 for 2 before the powerplay ended. Suryakumar Yadav’s 51 off 36 was Mumbai’s best knock — he was the only batter to genuinely find his timing on the surface. Rohit Sharma’s 35 was a measured innings that provided the foundation but did not accelerate at the rate the pitch demanded. The absence of Hardik Pandya due to illness was significant: Mumbai needed their captain’s power-hitting in the final overs, and instead they finished with Santner (18) and Bosch (11) — capable but not destructive.
Delhi Capitals Bowling at Mumbai Indians
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mukesh Kumar | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6.50 |
| Axar Patel | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 |
| Lungi Ngidi | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | — |
| T. Natarajan | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | — |
| Vipraj Nigam | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | — |
| Kuldeep Yadav | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
Key bowling notes: Mukesh Kumar was Delhi’s standout bowler — 2/26 from 4 overs — dismissing Rickelton and Tilak Varma in the same over with two different styles of delivery: a mishit to mid-off, then a caught and bowled knuckleball. His ability to take wickets early while keeping runs in check set the tone for a disciplined team bowling performance. Axar Patel contributed 1 wicket at 5.50 economy — important control from the captain bowling himself. Delhi spread the wickets across five bowlers, with Ngidi, Natarajan, and Nigam each taking one — a collective effort that prevented any individual batter from settling for long.
2nd Innings: Delhi Capitals — 164/4 (18.1 overs)
Delhi’s chase started badly. KL Rahul fell in the first over and Nitish Rana in the second — two wickets gone for little in the powerplay that left Delhi at 73 for 3 when Rizvi arrived as the Impact Player substitute for Rohit Sharma at the end of the fourth over. What followed was one of the most dominant individual chasing performances of IPL 2026. Pathum Nissanka steadied the innings with a counter-attacking 44 off 30, adding 66 runs with Rizvi for the third wicket. After Nissanka fell, Rizvi and David Miller (21 not out) added 78 runs for the fourth wicket that ended the game. Rizvi reached his fifty off 31 balls and scored 90 off 51 in total — seven fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 176.47. Delhi completed the chase with 11 balls to spare.
Delhi Capitals Batting Scorecard
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KL Rahul (wk) | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pathum Nissanka | — | 44 | 30 | — | — | 146.7 |
| Nitish Rana | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sameer Rizvi (Impact) | not out | 90 | 51 | 7 | 7 | 176.47 |
| David Miller | not out | 21 | — | — | — | — |
| Axar Patel (c) | did not bat | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tristan Stubbs | did not bat | — | — | — | — | — |
Fall of Wickets: 1-? (KL Rahul, ~1.x ov) | 2-? (Nitish Rana, ~2.x ov) | 3-? (Pathum Nissanka) | 4-not reached (Rizvi and Miller unbeaten)
Total: 164/4 (18.1 overs) — won by 6 wickets
Key innings notes: Pathum Nissanka’s 44 off 30 was the foundation innings — his counter-attack after losing two early wickets kept Delhi’s required rate manageable. The crucial partnership was Rizvi’s 66-run stand with Nissanka, and then 78 with Miller to seal the win. Rizvi’s innings is the story: 90 off 51, his second consecutive dominant IPL 2026 knock, and his third consecutive Player of the Match award extending from the end of IPL 2025. With seven sixes on a pitch that produced one six in the entire Mumbai innings through 7 overs, Rizvi’s timing, power, and game-reading was on a different level from everyone else on the ground.
Mumbai Indians Bowling at Delhi Capitals
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Chahar | — | 0 | 20 | 1 | — |
| Jasprit Bumrah | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Mayank Markande | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Trent Boult | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
| Mitchell Santner | — | 0 | — | 0 | — |
Key bowling notes: Deep Chahar was Mumbai’s most effective bowler with 1/20. Jasprit Bumrah — typically the most dangerous bowler in the IPL — was unable to take wickets against Rizvi’s assault. Mumbai used Mayank Markande as the Impact Player substitute, but his spin was ineffective on the night against a batter reading the pitch better than anyone.
Records and Context
- Sameer Rizvi won his third consecutive Player of the Match award in IPL — his first in the final game of IPL 2025, then his first two games of IPL 2026. Only seven batters in IPL history had previously won three or more consecutive PoM awards.
- Rizvi came in as the Impact Player substitute for Rohit Sharma (who was subbed out at the start of Delhi’s chase after his bowling was done) — the same role he had played in Delhi’s previous game.
- The first six of Mumbai’s innings did not arrive until the last ball of the 7th over — an extraordinary reflection of the slow, black-soil pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
- Hardik Pandya’s absence through illness was a significant factor — Mumbai’s captain was their designated finisher and power-hitter, and his absence left them without a go-to death-overs weapon.
- Delhi Capitals won two from two in IPL 2026 to open their campaign.
- Mumbai Indians, despite an early-season win before this match, were left searching for consistency in their middle and lower order without Pandya.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi Capitals defeated Mumbai Indians by 6 wickets with 11 balls to spare in the 8th match of IPL 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on April 4, 2026, on a difficult slow black-soil pitch that suppressed scoring across both innings.
- Sameer Rizvi was Player of the Match for the third consecutive IPL game — scoring 90 off 51 balls (7 fours, 7 sixes, SR 176.47) as Delhi’s Impact Player substitute, joining only seven other batters in IPL history to achieve three or more consecutive Player of the Match awards.
- Mukesh Kumar’s two-wicket second over — dismissing Ryan Rickelton to mid-off and then Tilak Varma caught and bowled via a knuckleball — defined Mumbai’s innings by dismantling the top order before the powerplay ended.
- Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for Mumbai with 51 off 36 balls — leading the team as captain in the absence of an ill Hardik Pandya — but could not build a partnership that extended the total beyond a gettable 162.
- Hardik Pandya’s absence through illness was the critical off-field factor: Mumbai’s power-hitting finisher and captain was unavailable, and the lower order of Santner (18) and Bosch (11) could not replicate his death-over destruction.
- Delhi lost KL Rahul and Nitish Rana in the first two overs to begin their chase at 73 for 3 — but Pathum Nissanka’s composed 44 off 30 stabilised the innings and allowed Rizvi the platform to take over.
- Rizvi’s partnership of 66 with Nissanka and 78 with David Miller (21*) — both made in quick time — turned a potentially tense chase into a comfortable win that was never in doubt once he found his footing.
- The pitch was the story of the first innings: Mumbai’s first six did not arrive until the last ball of the seventh over, reflecting how demanding the surface was — Rizvi’s 7 sixes in the chase made his performance look even more extraordinary in context.
- Axar Patel’s captaincy was measured throughout — bowling himself for 1/22 and using five different bowlers to restrict Mumbai, then trusting his Impact Player to see Delhi home in the chase.
- Delhi Capitals started IPL 2026 with two wins from two games, with Rizvi emerging as the tournament’s breakout batter — his form, game-reading ability, and impact as a substitute player made him the most influential individual across the opening week of the competition.