Punjab Kings made history by defeating Delhi Capitals with six wickets to spare in an IPL 2026 encounter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Saturday. They achieved the greatest successful run chase in IPL history. Chasing a massive target of 265, PBKS crossed the finish line in 18.5 overs. Prabhsimran Singh (76 from 26) and Priyansh Arya (43 from 17) gave Punjab a spectacular beginning before Shreyas Iyer (71 not out from 36) sealed victory for his team. Earlier, KL Rahul struck an incredible 152 not out as DC accumulated a colossal total of 264 for 2 after choosing to bat first. Rahul crafted his unbeaten 152 from 67 deliveries, featuring 16 boundaries and nine maximums. Nitish Rana also boosted DC’s score with 91 from 44 balls. His effort contained 11 boundaries and four sixes. The pair formed a 220-run stand from 95 deliveries for the second wicket. Rahul’s 152-run innings represents the highest individual score by an Indian batsman in IPL history. Prabhsimran and Shreyas execute the highest successful chase in IPL history .
TOSS
Delhi Capitals won the toss and decided to bat first.
PLAYING XI
Punjab Kings (Playing XI):
Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI):
KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar
DELHI CAPITALS
The heat seemed to affect Punjab Kings fielders early on, especially those stationed at the boundary. Shashank Singh dropped another straightforward chance at square leg, possibly the most expensive miss in a T20 match. Rahul was on 12 when this occurred, and proceeded to add 140 more runs to his score. A frustrated Arshdeep Singh responded in the same over by dismissing Pathum Nissanka, but this only brought Nitish Rana to the middle and set the stage for an extraordinary second-wicket partnership.
Rahul seized control early like he hadn’t done in recent years – he accumulated 35 from his opening 15 balls for the fourth time in the IPL, with the three previous occasions dating back to 2018 and 2019 during his Punjab stint. Rana also began aggressively, despite facing several slower deliveries from Marco Jansen and Xavier Bartlett. He mostly observed as Rahul reached a 21-ball fifty and DC achieved 102/1 at the midway point. Rana then drew motivation from his partner and took center stage in the 12th over, dismantling Xavier Bartlett around the field. He went 6,4,4,4,4,6 – striking over square leg, fine leg and cover to complete his half-century.
At 153/1 after 13 overs, Shreyas Iyer had to deploy his premier bowler. Arshdeep entered the attack, but Rahul’s batting approach remained audacious. He moved across for a scoop over the bowler’s head for four, followed with a straight six and straight four, before concluding the over with a clever cut behind point to enter the 90s. Marco Jansen returned and witnessed the ball sailing everywhere again – the third boundary of the over came from Rahul to reach his sixth IPL century, and his quickest – in just 47 balls.
After hammering 120 runs during the middle overs, Rahul and Rana craved much more. Rahul launched three massive sixes off Vijaykumar Vyshak in a 24-run over to begin the death phase, propelling his team beyond 200 in 16 overs. A rare quiet over came from Yuzvendra Chahal, but hopes of breaking through with Rana’s dismissal were dashed by the TV umpire. Marcus Stoinis took a brilliant catch at square leg, but numerous replays led the TV umpire to conclude that the Australian’s foot contacted the boundary rope.
The left-hander then collected a six and four in the 19th over to reach the 90s, before falling to a sharp catch by Shreyas Iyer at mid-off. This concluded a 220-run partnership – the second-highest for any wicket in IPL history. Arshdeep finished the innings with a modest nine-run over, but DC ended on 264/2 – the season’s highest total with Rahul remaining unbeaten on 152 from 67 – the best individual score by an Indian in IPL history.
PUNJAB KINGS
Priyansh Arya struck the opening ball of the chase for six, and gathered nine more in the first over from Auqib Nabi. Mukesh Kumar was then hammered for 21 in the second.
Arya and Prabhsimran continued their aggressive approach. Axar Patel conceded 20 in the third over and Nabi, from the opposite end, was attacked again – leaking five sixes in a 27-run over. PBKS remarkably reached 83/0 in just four overs. Natarajan restricted the two aggressive openers and still gave away nine runs, but Prabhsimran struck six fours off Mukesh Kumar to finish the Powerplay on 116/0. In the same over, Prabhsimran achieved an 18-ball fifty.
Amazingly, PBKS had secured half their enormous target by the seventh over, but Axar and Kuldeep Yadav created a momentum shift by removing both openers. The DC skipper dismissed Arya for a 17-ball 43 when he hit straight to deep mid-wicket. Prabhsimran’s extraordinary knock – 76 from 26 with nine fours and nine sixes – was then ended by an LBW decision against Kuldeep. DC almost claimed Cooper Connolly in the following over from Axar, only for Mukesh’s foot to touch the boundary rope after taking a fine diving catch at deep square leg. Kuldeep immediately capitalized by bowling the Australian in the 10th over. PBKS reached 147/3 in 10 overs – but managed only 31/3 in the four overs following the Powerplay.
Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera took 16 off Natarajan to revive the chase, but Vipraj Nigam, the concussion replacement, had the latter caught at long off in the 15th over. Nigam should have created distance between PBKS and victory when he forced Shreyas to mistime a big shot in the same over, only for Karun Nair to drop a simple chance. PBKS entered the death overs at 203/4, requiring 62 from 30 balls.
Despite all the six-hitting and batting dominance, this match also featured costly dropped catches. Nair dropped Shreyas again in the 16th over, this time at long on. The PBKS captain smashed three sixes and a four in the 23-run over. He then punished Natarajan in the 17th with a four and six, reducing the equation to an incredible 23 from 18. Shreyas refused to ease up even then, striking Mukesh for a four and six. He hit another six off Natarajan in the 19th over, before a wide sealed the victory. Shreyas departed with an outstanding 61* from 30.
Brief Scores:
Delhi Capitals 264/2 in 20 overs [KL Rahul 152* (68), Nitish Rana 91 (44)] lost to Punjab Kings 265/4 in 18.5 overs [Prabhsimran Singh 76 (26), Shreyas Iyer 61* (30)] by 6 wickets.
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