“We’ll feel right at home,” RCB’s spin bowling coach Malolan Rangarajan said, when asked about the dimensions of the Arun Jaitley Stadium ahead of the DC vs RCB clash. With its short boundaries, it was little surprise that the Kotla recorded the highest average first-innings total (235) among all venues last season, while RCB’s home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, ranked fourth with an average of 197 among venues that hosted at least five matches. This season, though, batting hasn’t been just about all-out aggression, and the return fixtures between DC and RCB are a testament to that.
The DC-RCB clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was effectively a role reversal of what had transpired in Bengaluru earlier this month.
Back then, it wasn’t an easy wicket, with Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam combining to restrict RCB to 163. DC stumbled to 30/3 in the chase, but a composed 93* off 53 balls from KL Rahul, along with his 111-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs (38* off 23), steered them home comfortably. On Sunday (April 27), it was RCB’s turn to return the favour, holding DC to 162 courtesy of frugal spells from Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, while the pacers chipped away regularly. RCB also slipped to 26/3 in their chase, but Pandya, playing a role similar to Rahul’s earlier, crafted a superb 73 off 47 balls. His 119-run stand with Virat Kohli (51 off 47) sealed an eight-wicket win in 18.3 overs, extending RCB’s flawless away record in 2025.
Batting against spin proved especially difficult on a dry wicket, with batters from both sides having to show application, pace their innings and pick the bowlers to target. Looking at the combined numbers of both teams against spin in this game, only 107 runs were scored off the 103 deliveries bowled by the slow bowlers. There were only five fours and two sixes scored off the spinners, but the effective take-down of pace is where RCB excelled while the majority of the DC batters failed to do so.
Both teams posted similar numbers against spin – RCB scored 57 off 55 balls at a strike rate of 103.64, while DC managed 50 off 48 at 104.16. The difference, however, came against pace. DC collected 108 runs off 73 balls at a strike rate of 147.94, but RCB were far more dominant, hammering 104 runs off just 58 balls at an impressive strike rate of 179.31. And it was Pandya’s batting – both against pace and spin – that made life easier for RCB despite their early struggles. The left-hander got as many as 44 runs off 24 balls against the quick bowlers, striking at 183.33. But he was also busy against the spinners, scoring 29 off 23 at 126.08, even hitting two fours and a six off them.
