Bengal vs Delhi, RNJ ELITE, 2026-27, Today Match Prediction

BGL vs DLI Match Prediction & Analysis

The Ranji Trophy 2026-27 season is all set to start. Bengal will face Delhi in Elite Group C at Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, Kalyani, from 11th October. The match is scheduled to start at 9:30 am. Bengal were the semifinalists last season, while Delhi crashed out in the group stages.

Bengal finished the last season as the table toppers in Group C with 5 wins and 2 draws. They went on to beat Andhra by an innings and 90 runs in the quarter-finals. Sudeep Kumar Gharami scored 299 runs in the game. Their dream run came to an end after losing the semi-final against Jammu and Kashmir. All eyes will be on Sudeep Kumar Gharami, who finished the last season with 797 runs.

Delhi finished the last season in seventh place. They couldn’t register a single win in Group D. They forced 6 draws and lost a game against Jammu and Kashmir. Ayush Doseja (949 runs) and Sanat Sangwan (828 runs) finished the last season as the second and third leading run-scorers, respectively. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Bengal Preview

Bengal will be hopeful to continue their dominance in the group stages. But they will be without their leading wicket-taker from last season. Shahbaz Ahmed (434 runs and 39 wickets) has been ruled out of the first game after picking up an injury in the Duleep Trophy. Abhimanyu Easwaran will continue leading the squad. Easwaran scored 427 runs in the last season in 7 games with 4 half-centuries. He will open the innings with Sudip Chatterjee. Chatterjee has scored 400 runs each in the last 2 seasons.

Sudip Kumar Gharami will come in at number three. He was their leading run-scorer in the last season with 797 runs. This includes 299 runs in the quarter-final against Andhra and 146 runs in the first innings against Jammu and Kashmir in the semifinal. He will be the batter to watch out for. Suraj Jaiswal will come in the middle with Shakir Gandhi and Sumanta Gupta. Gupta scored 553 runs in the last 9 games with a century and 4 half-centuries. Gandhi averaged 43 while scoring 387 runs in 10 innings of the last season.

Bengal will fill the void in the middle due to the absence of Shahbaz Ahmed and Anustup Majumdar. Ahmed scored 434 while Majumdar scored 393 runs in the last season. Bhishek Porel has been added to the squad to fill up this gap. 

Bengal’s bowling lineup is more experienced as compared to Delhi. They have Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, and Mukesh Kumar to lead the bowling attack, with Suraj Jaiswal and Mohammed Kaif. Shami picked up 37 wickets in the last season at an average of 16.7. He will be the bowler to watch out for. Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar have picked up 43 wickets in their last 6 games. Suraj Jaiswal has the most wickets for Bengal since the 2024-25 season. He has 49 wickets at an average below 20.

Key Players: Sudip Kumar Gharami, Suraj Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami.

Bengal Predicted Playing XI:

Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Sudip Kumar Gharami (vice-capt), Sudip Chatterjee, Abishek Porel (wk), Shakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Sumanta Gupta, Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Md. Kaif.

Delhi Preview

Delhi will look forward to registering their first win after 2 years. Sanat Sangwan will open the innings with Dhruv Kaushik. Sangwan finished the last season as the third-leading run-scorer. He scored 828 runs at an average of 69 with 3 centuries and half centuries each. Yash Dhull might come in at number three. Dhull scored 400-plus runs each in the last 2 seasons, averaging 49. 

Ayush Doseja will come in the middle with skipper Ayush Badoni and Pranav Rajvanshi. Doseja was the second-leading run-scorer of the last season with 949 runs at an average of 105. He scored 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries. He will be the batter to watch out for. Badoni scored 294 runs in the last season with 4 half-centuries in 4 games. He also added 499 runs in the 2024-25 season at an average of 83. Pranav Rajvanshi might keep the bails for Delhi. He has 248 runs in the last 6 games. 

The bowling unit has been a concern for Delhi for the last 2 years. Money Grewal has 22 wickets in the last 8 games. Badoni can be the bowler to watch out for. He picked up 13 wickets at an average of 14 in the 2024-25 season and finished the last season with 8 wickets in 4 games. Excluding these two, Simarjeet Singh will be part of the playing eleven. He has claimed 11 wickets in the last 5 FC games.

Key Players: Ayush Doseja, Ayush Badoni, Money Grewal

Delhi Predicted Playing XI:

Ayush Badoni (c), Yash Dhull, Ayush Doseja, Pranav Rajvanshi, Money Grewal, Simarjeet Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Sanat Sangwan, Dhruv Kaushik, Sumit Mathur, Tejasvi Dahiya.

Weather Conditions

The weather in Kalyani is expected to be sunny on match day, with temperatures ranging from 24 to 31 degrees Celsius. Winds will blow from the southeast at 6-10 km/h. The player will have difficulty fielding in 93% humidity.

It is a bowling-friendly pitch. Especially in the first innings, batters find it difficult to bat. 2 of the three wins in the last season were by an innings and runs.

BGL vs DLI Pitch Report

The match will be played at Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, Kalyani, from 11th October. The match is scheduled to start at 9:30 am. The average first innings score is 333, 59 less than the second innings.

Toss: To Bowl

Bengal Cricket Academy Ground, Kalyani, has seen successful chases. 2 out of the 3 wins registered here were won by the teams bowling first. The team winning the toss should bowl first. Even Bengal lost the semi-final on the same venue by 6 wickets against J&K.