In a gripping clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured a 4-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2025 Match 46 on April 27, 2025. Chasing 163 to win, RCB chased it down successfully in 18.3 overs with strong batting from Krunal Pandya, who was to score an impressive unbeaten 73 off 47 balls, whilst the DC batting was unable to handle the pressure. Let's look at the main causes of Delhi's defeat. 
 
For starters, DC could not put together a match-winning total of 162/8 as they could not get significant partnerships, despite starts for KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs, and poor bowling while dew was present at a time during the batting innings that impacted the game and allowed RCB's Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli to dominate. RCB's batting had support from Kohli's 51 off 47 and a late flurry of runs from Tim David, who scored 19 off 5 balls, ensuring a steady rate of chase towards victory in an exciting match.

1. Insufficient Total on the Board

Delhi Capitals had a total of 162/8, but with the dew setting in during the second innings, 162 was an insufficient score. Axar Patel made comments after the match acknowledging they should've had another 10-15 runs, and it's true, RCB maybe didn't chase that target with ease, but with enough comfort that they had a comfortable 9 balls to spare at the end of the match. 

Also Read: IPL 2025, Match 46: Delhi Capitals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Full Match Highlights

2. Lack of Substantial Partnerships

Delhi Capitals had KL Rahul score a competitive 41 runs off 39 on his return to the lineup and made good starts with Tristan Stubbs, 34 runs off 18. The underlying issue was that DC players were unable to convert starts into significant partnerships, losing wickets at possible important times. In contrast, RCB made significant gains with a 100-run partnership off 81 deliveries from Krunal Pandya and Virat Kohli, thwarting the DC bowling efforts throughout the innings. 

3. Struggles with Bowling in Dew Conditions

The DC bowlers bowled alright in the first innings, but while they were able to hold down RCB in the first innings, the bowlers struggled to gain grip on the ball due to heavy dew in the second half of the match, and once the RCB batting group gained the ascendency, it became impossible because the RCB players, in particular, Krunal Pandya, belted the balls to the boundary very comfortably.