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Delhi Capitals overcame a poor batting Powerplay to storm to their second highest successful run chase that keeps them alive in IPL 2026. PBKS posted 205/5 on a pitch that offered assistance to quicks but weren't able to defend it as the troika of Axar Patel, David Miller and Ashutosh Sharma snatched the game away from the middle-overs onwards. This was the ninth time PBKS failed to defend a 200-plus total in IPL, falling to their fourth straight defeat.
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@B2$: Punjab Kings 210/5 in 20 overs [Priyansh Arya 56 (33), Shreyas Iyer 59 (36), Suryansh Shedge 21(8); Madhav Tiwari 2-40] lost to Delhi Capitals 216/7 in 19 overs [David Miller 51 (28), Axar Patel 56 (30), Ashutosh Sharma 24 (10); Arshdeep Singh 2-21] by 3 wickets
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Priyansh Arya arrived having looked a touch shaky in the last few outings but Mitchell Starc offered him a hit-me full ball first up that the left-hander smashed for a six - the first of his six such hits inside the Powerplay. Starc was all over the place in an erratic 22-run first over, where a short ball flew over KL Rahul's diving hand for five wides, a leading edge from Arya went for another six and Prabhsimran put away an overpitched ball for a four. Arya cleared the square leg fence against Auqib Nabi and then tonked two more sixes off Lungi Ngidi to get going. PBKS got to their fastest team fifty in 2.4 overs, but that was followed by a relatively tight over from Nabi worth eight runs. Arya got to a 24-ball half-century on the first ball of the sixth over where Nabi bowled excellent lengths to give away just two singles. PBKS still got to 72/0, but there was something in the pitch for the pacers.
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The PBKS captain looked uncharacteristically scratchy and out of touch in his team's three successive defeats but he shrugged that off in Dharamsala. To such an extent, that even a miscued push after failing to read a slower one from Lungi Ngidi flew over the long-off fence for a six. He hit a lot more commanding shots through his knock, none more than the six over deep extra cover against Madhav Tiwari to get to his half-century.
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He came through well, even if his figures of 2-40 doesn't paint the most accurate picture. He bowled with a lot of smarts and variations. Arya, who was in the mood to plunder the bowling, became his maiden IPL wicket when he found the deep point fielder. Tiwari also prised out PBKS' most recent centurion Cooper Connolly with a well disguised slower bouncer. A 19-run fourth over sullied what would've otherwise been a very impressive evening for Tiwari.
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It looked like the Aussie would make up for the 22 runs he conceded at the start, but Suryansh Shedge would have none of it. Starc dismissed Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh off the first two balls of the 19th over, but watched his hat-trick ball dispatched over long on for a six by Shedge. He then expected Starc to go for a yorker next and went deep into the crease to get a boundary next ball. Starc went round the stumps for the last ball and Shedge disdainfully pulled it for a six over deep mid-wicket.
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There was no scope for a flourish here. Delhi Capitals just crumbled. Yash Thakur seamed one in to knock back Abishek Porel's middle stump, Marco Jansen took an excellent diving catch in the deep to remove KL Rahul and Sahil Parakh found Yuzvendra Chahal at short third with a cramped ramp shot. With that, DC were down to 33/3. Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs dragged them to 48/3 in 6 overs.
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A slippery outfield, dew and a headstrong pair of Axar & Miller. DC lost Stubbs in the ninth over to an excellent direct hit from Connolly that then brought Axar and Miller together. As their stand grew, dew made its presence felt more and more, and fielders kept losing their footing in the deep. Axar was particularly untethered on the night, throwing his bat around at a wet ball that came onto the bat nicely. The DC captain scored more in this innings than he'd done all season, but his wicket in the 14th over - tonking a Stoinis delivery to Ben Dwarshuis at long-on, came at the worst possible time for the chasers.
PBKS tried to push the dagger further into DC as Arshdeep returned to bowl a fabulous 15th over worth just 5 runs to complete his quota on 2/21.
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The Arsheep-shaped void was felt. Miller made up for the previous over by laying into his South African teammate Marco Jansen. He got 15 of it and then proceeded to welcome Dwarshuis with two big sixes in the 17th over to reach a 27-ball 50. Even though he fell to a contender for the catch of the season by Prabhsimran Singh, runs continued to come. Tiwari arrived and casually cut one behind point for a four as 17 came from the over. Stoinis repeatedly offered balls in the slot for Ashutosh Sharma who gleefully slammed a four and a six to get started. Tiwari then joined in, as he too got offered a hittable delivery that he deposited over deep backward square leg. This 19-run over reduced the equation down to just 19 off 12. All of that came off Yash Thakur in the penultimate over - Tiwari finished unbeaten on 18 off 8, Ashutosh fell for 24 off 10 and Auqib Nabi arrived to put the finishing touches with a four and six.
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There was not one over of spin all game. Axar didn't bring himself on for the entirety of the 20 overs and Shreyas too kept Yuzvendra Chahal away as the fixture was closed out with 39 overs of pace - the second most in a single game of IPL.
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Delhi Capitals are heading back home for a game against Rajasthan Royals six days later on May 17. Punjab Kings host Mumbai Indians in Dharamsala on May 14.
