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Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen watching the DC vs KKR IPL 2026 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Gambhir was seen sitting with the national selector RP Singh and BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla. Gambhir and RP were involved in a discussion during the course of the proceedings.

The head coach also had a word with Shukla, who is attending matches in the ongoing 19th season of the tournament. This was the first stance of  Gambhir making his presence felt after the Men in Blue won the 2026 T20 World Cup at home.

The members of the selection panel have been watching all the contests in the tournament in order to watch the players in action and identify the new talented cricketers. The presence of Gambhir sparked excitement among the fans of the Indian National Cricket Team.

Coming back to the game between the home franchise, Delhi Capitals, and the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Axar Patel-led team was again ordinary in the batting department. Although DC opener Pathum Nissanka scored a half-century, the spinners of the Knight Riders managed to dominate the rivals’ batters, restricting the hosts to 142 for 8.

KL Rahul also looked good with the bat before Kartik Tyagi dismissed him. The veteran wicket-keeper managed to post 23 runs in 14 balls, laced with 4 boundaries. On the other hand, Nissanka hit 5 boundaries and 3 sixes in his knock of 50 runs in 29 deliveries.

Nitish Rana (8), Sameer Rizvi  (3), Tristan Stubbs (2), and Axar (11) were among the flops. Ashutosh Sharma hit 3 fours and 3 sixes and added 39 runs to the total. The spin trio of Anukul Roy (2/31), Sunil Narine (1/17), and Varun Chakravarthy (0/28) were brilliant with the ball. Pacers Kartik Tyagi (2/25), Vaibhav Arora (1/29), and Cameron Green (1/12) also bowled well.

Kolkata captain Ajinkya Rahane introduced spinners Roy and Narine into the attack in the powerplay overs to dry up the big shots.

Chasing 143, Kolkata completed the task in 14.2 overs with 8 wickets in hand. After losing two wickets for just 31 runs, Finn Allen and Green added 116 runs for the third wicket.

Allen struck 100 off 47 balls, laced with 10 sixes and 5 boundaries. Green scored an unbeaten 33 runs off 27 balls, including two sixes. KKR have won four consecutive matches and are seventh in the points table, while DC are eighth.