Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to field first against Delhi Capitals in Delhi. DC's innings saw opener Abishek Porel narrowly miss a fifty, scoring 49 off 37 balls. KL Rahul contributed 38 off 32 balls. The innings received a late boost from captain Axar Patel (34 off 14) and Tristan Stubbs (34* off 18), propelling them to 188/5 despite Jofra Archer taking two wickets for RR. Sandeep Sharma's final over proved expensive, conceding 23 runs.
In reply, Rajasthan Royals started strongly with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson attacking from the outset. However, drama unfolded when Samson, after hitting a six and looking in good touch, pulled up with an apparent injury. Following medical attention, he attempted to continue but ultimately decided to retire hurt, a significant blow to the chasing side.
Riyan Parag joined Jaiswal but was dismissed for 8 runs by Axar Patel. Jaiswal reached his fifty but fell soon after to Kuldeep Yadav, caught by Mitchell Starc. At the time the reports concluded, Nitish Rana had reached his half-century and was batting with Dhruv Jurel, keeping RR in the hunt but facing a challenging required run rate.