In an iconic north Indian derby, Delhi Capitals (DC) will host Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in the afternoon of Saturday, April 25. Currently, DC are ranked fifth in the table while PBKS are perched much higher, in the top spot with five wins in six games. DC have not been so fortunate, winning just three of the six games they have played, and hence, they will be put to a severe test here. Under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy, PBKS have blossomed into a title-challenger this season.
Predicted Teams
DC: Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (wk), Sameer Rizvi, Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), David Miller, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Lungi Ngidi.
PBKS: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Key Players
KL Rahul (DC): KL Rahul remains one of the most important players in the DC setup. The wicketkeeper-opener is a classy player who is known to have extra time before playing any shot, and as a result, comes off as elegant even during mundane strokemaking. Rahul has anchored the DC innings, but he has also changed gears when asked to. He is a vital presence at the top of the order.
Priyansh Arya (PBKS): Opener Priyansh Arya blazed away with 93 in PBKS' previous game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and he is expected to repeat this here. Arya is a free-flowing batter who is virtually unbeatable on flat surfaces, but he can also use the depth of the crease to his advantage. Arya likes to play shots on the rise.
Match Prediction
PBKS are the favourites. They have the upper hand over their opponents despite playing away from home, given their current form in the league. PBKS are yet to lose this season, winning five of their six games and having a no-result in the other. The away side are heavy at the top, with the likes of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly and Iyer comfortably playing the destructive roles needed to either put up or chase big totals.
Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad – Indian Premier League Prediction (25.04.2026)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) host Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in the Indian Premier League on Saturday, April 25. SRH have come back strongly from their initial disappointments this season, and are currently ranked fourth in the table with four wins in seven games. RR, too, are one of the title-challengers this year, and have lost just two out of the seven matches they have played. As a result, the Riyan Parag-led outfit are perched on the second spot of the table.
Predicted Teams
RR: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Brijesh Sharma, Nandre Burger.
SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora (wk), Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivang Kumar, Praful Hinge, Sakib Hussain, Eshan Malinga.
Key Players
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (RR): Young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become the nightmare of every bowler in the IPL with his free-flowing stroke-making. The teenager is renowned for playing just the ball, and not the bowler, and getting into shape to tonk most deliveries out of the park. What makes Sooryavanshi so deadly is the fact that he starts hitting boundaries from the first ball itself.
Praful Hinge (SRH): Seamer Praful Hinge showed his class with a four-wicket haul on his IPL debut against RR in the reverse fixture, and he will be keen on recreating the same here. Hinge is a raw fast bowler who hails from Nagpur, Vidarbha, and he can hit the deck hard. However, the most important aspect of his bowling is that he can consistently hit the right lines and lengths.
Match Prediction
RR are serious title contenders this year, and we expect them to win. While SRH's recent form has been awesome, including a victory over RR in the reverse fixture played earlier this season, this match should go the way of the home team. SRH's batters have thrived solely on the flat, batting-friendly surfaces prepared in Hyderabad. And they might falter in Jaipur, where the ball is known to stop and come off the surface.
Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans – Indian Premier League Prediction (26.04.2026)
Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clash against each other in the ongoing Indian Premier League at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai, on Sunday, April 26. Both these sides have had start-stop seasons so far. At the time of writing, CSK are perched low in the league table, in the eighth spot with just two wins in six games. GT have done only marginally better, winning three out of the six matches they have played. As a result, the Shubman Gill-led side are sixth in the standings.
Predicted Teams
CSK: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Matthew Short, Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh.
GT: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Ashok Sharma.
Key Players
Sarfaraz Khan (CSK): Middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan is one of the most vital players for CSK. He is a good player of spin, which makes the India Test batter crucial in the middle overs. Khan is known to have the right balance between hitting sixes and rotating the strike. He can come in handy in case CSK see a top-order collapse, with their openers failing to get going.
Sai Sudharsan (GT): Opener Sai Sudharsan will play a big role in setting up the GT innings. Moreover, Sudharsan, who hails from Chennai, will be playing at his home ground, which means that he knows the dimensions well. While he is a proven good player against seam, the southpaw is equally competent against spin. This trait of his will hold him in good stead at the slow, spinning track at Chepauk.
Match Prediction
We expect CSK to win. Very little has gone their way this season, but surely they should be able to make the most of these home conditions. They have a strong spin-bowling unit, with Noor Ahmad leading the pack. The Afghan spinner will be the key to CSK's chances in this fixture. The pitch at Chepauk has traditionally favoured spinners, and hence, CSK have an advantage.
Lucknow Super Giants vs Kolkata Knight Riders – Indian Premier League Prediction (26.04.2026)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) travel to Lucknow to take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium in the city on Sunday, April 26. The visiting side have been the worst performers this season, being ranked last in the table at the time of writing, with just one win in seven matches. However, LSG have not done much better, and are ranked just one spot above KKR, with a mere two victories in as many games. Hence, this clash features the two last-ranked franchises, with the winner getting bragging rights.
Predicted Teams
LSG: Mitchell Marsh, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (wk/c), Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mukul Choudhary, Mohammed Shami, Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Mayank Yadav.
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Tim Seifert (wk), Cameron Green, Rovman Powell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Key Players
Rishabh Pant (LSG): Rishabh Pant, the LSG captain, has not been consistent this season, but everyone knows what he is capable of once he gets going. Pant is an explosive batter who can tuck into the best bowlers of the world. The southpaw can play unconventional shots, especially square of the wicket, which makes him very challenging to bowl at. Behind the stumps, Pant is among the best in India, with his safe glovework and footwork.
Varun Chakaravarthy (KKR): Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been a trump card in the KKR armoury ever since he joined the franchise, and this season has been no different. The Tamil Nadu spinner is known to get the ball to turn both ways, and he can also confuse batters by varying his pace. Chakaravarthy is a versatile customer, since he can be trusted to bowl both inside the powerplay and in the slog overs.
Match Prediction
With the way KKR's season has gone so far, we expect LSG to win. They earlier defeated KKR in the reverse fixture played in Kolkata, and are anticipated to bring that confidence here. LSG also have better balance in their unit, while KKR have faltered significantly in using their overseas resources. The inability of Cameron Green to be a true match-winner with the ball has also hurt KKR.