Although no Aussies were in action, a couple of the top teams put in strong performances
Both Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals have kept their unbeaten IPL seasons alive on a Saturday double header that didn’t feature any Australians.
Mitch Starc’s Dehi easily chased down Mumbai Indians’ 6-162 with 11 balls to spare, although the big left-arm quick was absent again as he continues his “rehabbing and managing” of his elbow and shoulder following his massive workload over the Aussie summer.
Mumbai’s high-profile top order failed to fire, with the exception of captain Suryakumar Yadav, who made 51 off 36 to give his side something to defend. His opposite number, Capitals skipper Axar Patel, gave nothing away with his accurate spin and finished with 1-22 from his four overs.
In the chase it was the Indians who started the best as DC were 2-7 when Jasprit Bumrah brilliantly fielded off his own bowling and executed the run out of Nitish Rana at the non-striker’s end.
But that brought little-known 22-year-old Sameer Rizvi to the crease who continued his hot start to the current IPL season. On Wednesday, he entered DC’s match against Lucknow Super Giants as the Impact Sub and made 70no off 47 to steer the chase. On Saturday night, playing his 15th IPL game, Rizvi crunched 90 from 51 balls, hitting seven fours and seven sixes to put the result beyond doubt.
Opening bowlers Bumrah (0-22) and Deepak Chahar (1-20) were tidy but lacked support and the chase was completed by South African duo David Miller (21no) and Tristan Stubbs (3no).
Over in Ahmedabad, the runs were flowing as Rajasthan Royals piled on 6-210 with their top three all getting stuck in.
Yashavi Jaiswal (55), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (31) and Dhruv Jurel (75) all made the largely international-quality attack of Gujarat look pedestrian and only a stack of late wickets prevented RR’s total being even higher.
Sai Sudharsan spearheaded the chase, hitting 73 from 44 and while he had the run rate on track, the Indian star lacked any consistent support.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi held his nerve to take four wickets in the space of three overs, which included the wickets of Sudharsan, Glenn Phillips and Washington Sundar.
Some late hitting from Rashid Khan (24) and Kagiso Rabada (23no) swung the match back in Gujarat’s favour, with the Titans needing 15 runs from the final two overs.
But an excellent 19th over from Jofra Archer (four runs) and 20th from Tushar Deshpande (four runs) close the game out in the crucial moments, holding on by six runs.
IPL 2026 standings
Australians in IPL 2026
Chennai Super Kings: Matt Short ($255k), Spencer Johnson ($255k, replaces Nathan Ellis ($340k))
Delhi Capitals: Mitchell Starc ($2m)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Josh Hazlewood ($2.13m), Tim David ($510k)
Punjab Kings: Marcus Stoinis ($1.9m), Ben Dwarshuis ($745k), Mitchell Owen ($510k), Cooper Connolly ($510k), Xavier Bartlett ($136k)
Kolkata Knight Riders: Cameron Green ($3.5m)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins ($3.5m), Travis Head ($2.38m), Jack Edwards ($510k, withdrawn)
Lucknow Super Giants: Josh Inglis ($1.49m), Mitchell Marsh ($578k)
