Delhi Capitals’ woes continued at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi after the team lost its fourth home game of the Indian Premier League 2026 season. DC have now played five home games this season, out of which they have lost four.
Apart from their win in their first home game of the season against Mumbai Indians, DC have lost every single match at Kotla, which has compounded their woes this season. In the four matches that they have lost, apart from the Gujarat Titans game, DC have been blown away in almost all of them.
DC AT HOME: 5 GAMES, 4 LOSSES
In the day game against Punjab Kings, on a flat deck, DC lost after scoring 264 runs – one of the highest totals in the history of the IPL. In the next match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DC were given a slightly seaming wicket, which saw them fold for just 75 runs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood ran riot in that game, marking a horrible defeat for DC on April 27.
On Tuesday, when they returned to Kotla once again, DC won the toss and opted to bat first, hoping that the pitch would slow down in the second innings. The reality turned out to be the opposite, as Sanju Samson anchored Chennai Super Kings to an eight-wicket win.
Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani lamented in the post-match press conference that they have not been able to read the pitches this season. Badani said that DC were not in control of the surfaces, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) monitors wickets to ensure neutrality in the IPL.
“As much as I would like to think that we are in control of the surfaces that we would like to play on, there is a clear mandate from the BCCI. They are the ones who set guidelines to ensure neutrality, that there is no local advantage. You play what is presented to you. Yes, it has been a little up and down to understand what we are going to get. One game was 75, another was 265, then there was a surface that spun,” Badani said after the match.
The coach called on his team to lift their performances in the last four matches of the tournament. DC are set to play two of their remaining four games at home and will hope to climb to a more respectable position in the points table.
“I think collectively we need to play better. I would not single out one individual. In one game, we scored 265 and could not defend. In another, we lost by one run. In this game, we lost five wickets. So it is not about one person. As a team, we need to play better cricket. That is the reality,” Badani said.
DC are currently in seventh place in the league table after 10 games. They are at risk of slipping to eighth if they lose to Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, May 8.
