New Delhi: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. In the last match against Lucknow Supergiants, the star batsman Virat Kohli Deployed as an impact player.Kohli injured his ankle in the win over Mumbai Indians and did not feature in the second innings but still contributed 49 runs against LSG.This raises a crucial question – will Kohli be an impact player again against Delhi Capitals?RCB’s performance this season has been impressive and they suffered only one defeat, against Rajasthan Royals. Apart from this, they also had overwhelming wins over Sunrisers Hyderabad, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants to finish second in the points table.A win in this game could propel them to the top. RCB also has a good head-to-head record, having won 20 of 33 matches against Delhi Capitals, with Delhi Capitals recording 12 wins, including one match without a result.As far as the team mix is concerned, Kohli is expected to make a full recovery and may return as a regular. However, he could be used as an impact player again if the team chooses to manage his workload.After the win against LSG, Kohli admitted that he is still recovering from full fitness after enduring a knee problem and a brief illness, although he was happy with his batting effort.
“A lot better than the last game. I’m not 100 percent yet. My knee was a little sore from the last game. Even health-wise, I’ve been out for four or five days now. So, just getting back to my best. I started off well today, so I’m happy with my intensity. Again, I’m eager to get going and finish.” Sometimes you also have to consider conditions. The pitch was noticeably slower and I just wanted to keep going the same way. But yes, ultimately, we should be able to finish this one as well,” Kohli said after the match against LSG.Squad:Royal Challengers Bangalore: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(wK), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Mangesh Yadav, Josh Hazlewood, Jordan Cox, Nuwan Tushara, Vicky Ostwal, Vihan Malhotra, Abhinandan Singh, Kanishk Chauhan, Satvik Deswal.Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul(wk), Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Vipraj Nigam, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi Dar, Dushmantha Chameera, Karun Nair, Mitchell Starc, Kyle Jamieson, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prithvi Shaw, Tripurana Vijay, Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh. Madhav Tiwari
