Royal Challengers Bengaluru pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood delivered a devastating spell on Monday, ripping through the Delhi Capitals batting order and leaving them at 13 for 6 in the powerplay during their IPL 2026 encounter. This became the lowest powerplay score in a full IPL match.
Delhi's top order collapsed under relentless pressure as both fast bowlers claimed three wickets each, handing RCB complete control early in the match.
Bhuvneshwar Strikes First
Bhuvneshwar started the damage in the first over by yorking rookie Parakh. In the next over, Hazlewood removed KL Rahul, who had scored an unbeaten 152 in Delhi's previous match against Punjab Kings. Hazlewood bowled a hard-length delivery at 141.4 kph on the stumps. Rahul attempted to play it but only managed a top edge, which was safely caught by wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. Rahul departed for 1.
Hazlewood's Double Strike
On the very next ball, Hazlewood struck again. He bowled a fuller delivery outside off with late movement away from the batter. Sameer Rizvi went for the drive, edged it behind, and walked back for a golden duck. Hazlewood was then on a hat-trick, but Tristan Stubbs thwarted that with a drive through the leg side.
However, Delhi's problems continued. Just 13 balls into the innings, they had already lost four wickets as Stubbs also departed soon after, edging one to the slips for 5 off 3 balls.
Bhuvneshwar Removes Captain
Three balls later, Bhuvneshwar struck again by removing DC captain Axar Patel. He found the outside edge with late movement, and Delhi were left struggling at 7 for 5 in 2.4 overs.
Hazlewood then bounced out Nitish Rana as well. Bowling from around the stumps, he cramped the left-hander with a short ball into the body. Rana tried to get out of the way but left his bat hanging, and the ball popped up to Devdutt Padikkal at wide slip. Rana's dismissal left Delhi at 8 for 6 in the fourth over.
Record Low Powerplay
Their 13 for 6 after six overs broke the previous record for the lowest powerplay total in a full IPL match. The earlier record was 14 for 2 by Rajasthan Royals against RCB in Cape Town in 2009.
Lowest Powerplay (1-6 overs) totals in the IPL:
- 13/6 - DC vs RCB, Delhi, 2026*
- 14/2 - RR vs RCB, Cape Town, 2009
- 14/3 - SRH vs RR, Pune, 2022
- 15/2 - CSK vs KKR, Kolkata, 2011
- 16/1 - CSK vs DD, Raipur, 2015
- 16/1 - CSK vs RCB, Chennai, 2019
