Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals Match Scorecard – IPL 2026 Match 35 Full Analysis

Punjab Kings chased down 265 against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 Match 35, winning by 6 wickets with 7 balls remaining at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on April 25, 2026. It was the highest successful T20 chase in cricket history. KL Rahul scored a record-breaking 152* off 67 balls, yet DC still lost. This page covers the complete Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match scorecard, turning points, player performances, and tactical breakdown.

Quick Match Result

Match Summary in 10 Seconds

• Target: 265 – highest ever successfully chased in T20 cricket.
• Powerplay (PBKS): 116/0 in 6 overs – second-highest powerplay score in IPL history.
• Opening stand: Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26) + Priyansh Arya (43 off 17) – 126 runs in 7 overs, highest-ever PBKS vs DC opening partnership.
• Finisher: Shreyas Iyer – 71* off 36 balls.
• Turning point: Overs 1–6. DC’s powerplay bowling conceded 116 runs. The game was effectively decided before the 7th over began.

Match Highlights

• KL Rahul became the first Indian batter to score 150+ in IPL history – 152* off 67 balls, 16 fours, 9 sixes.
• KL Rahul and Nitish Rana stitched a 220-run partnership – the second-highest partnership in IPL history.
• DC’s powerplay (1st innings): 68/1 in 6 overs – controlled start before the explosion.
• PBKS powerplay (2nd innings): 116/0 in 6 overs – second-highest powerplay score in IPL history, only behind SRH’s 125/0 in 2024.
• 265 chased in 18.5 overs – the highest successful T20 chase ever recorded.
• PBKS won with 7 balls remaining despite losing 4 wickets.

DC vs PBKS Match Summary Scorecard

Delhi Capitals Batting: 264/2 (20 Overs)

DC’s innings was built on two phases: Rahul’s lone genius in overs 1–10, and the Rahul–Rana demolition in overs 11–20.

Key batting milestones:

• KL Rahul reached his fifty in 26 balls, his century in 47 balls.
• He was dropped on 12 – and went on to score 140 more runs after the reprieve.
• Rahul–Rana partnership: 220 runs – second-highest partnership in IPL history, joining Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in an elite bracket.
• DC’s mandatory powerplay (overs 1–6): 68/1 – a measured start before the onslaught.

DC Bowling (1st innings): Arshdeep Singh 1/49 (4 overs), Xavier Bartlett 1/69 (4 overs).

Punjab Kings Bowling vs DC (1st Innings)

What you miss: Xavier Bartlett conceding 69 in 4 overs highlights exactly where PBKS’s bowling was punished. DC’s batters targeted the pace bowlers through the V – KL Rahul alone hit 59 runs through long-on and long-off with 12 boundaries in that corridor.

Read More About – Rohit Sharma T20I Records: The Real Story Behind the Numbers

Punjab Kings Batting: 265/4 (18.5 Overs)

The Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match scorecard for the second innings is one of the most extraordinary in IPL history.

Fall of Wickets (PBKS): 126 (Arya, 6.5 ov), 126 (Prabhsimran, 7.x ov), 145 (Connolly), 209 (Wadhera)

Key batting milestones:

• Opening stand: 126 runs in 7 overs – highest-ever PBKS vs DC opening partnership in IPL history, surpassing 122 by Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul at Wankhede in 2021.
• Powerplay total: 116/0 in 6 overs – second-highest powerplay score in IPL history, behind only SRH’s 125/0 set in 2024.
• 200 runs reached in 14.2 overs (87 balls).
• Prabhsimran’s assault: Priyansh Arya initiated the onslaught with a six over midwicket off Auqib Nabi. Prabhsimran capped the opening over with another six. The tone was set in over one.

Delhi Capitals Bowling vs PBKS (2nd Innings)

Kuldeep Yadav was DC’s only bowler who offered genuine resistance. Mukesh Kumar (18.33 economy) and Auqib Nabi (20.50 economy) were demolished. The pace-first approach in the powerplay was a fatal tactical error – it handed two of T20 cricket’s most destructive power-hitters exactly what they thrive on.

Tactical Breakdown: Where DC Lost This Game

The Powerplay Decision That Decided Everything

DC captain Axar Patel opened the bowling with pace in the second innings. Mukesh Kumar and Natarajan faced Prabhsimran and Arya in the powerplay. The result: 116 runs in 6 overs.

Carlos Brathwaite, DC’s coach, admitted after the match that DC needed to be “a little more proactive” with the ball. Deep Dasgupta praised the PBKS openers, noting they were “more than just hitters” – their placement, their reading of field gaps, and their calculated aggression made them near-impossible to contain.

What people think vs reality: Most viewers assume 265 is simply unchaseable. The reality is that 265 becomes chaseable the moment a bowling attack has no plan for the first six overs. The required rate drops from 13.25 to 10.50 if 116 runs score in the powerplay. At 10.50 per over across 14 overs, with the PBKS middle order still to bat, DC’s target was no longer imposing – it was manageable.

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The Momentum Break DC Could Not Capitalise On

Between overs 7 and 9, PBKS fell from 126/0 to 145/3 – losing three wickets in roughly two overs. That was DC’s window. Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav had a real chance to drag the match back.

Shreyas Iyer shut it immediately. Coming in at No. 4, he scored 71* off 36 at a strike rate of 197.22 and built a partnership with Nehal Wadhera that sealed the chase before the 19th over. The momentum break was real – but PBKS’s captain responded faster than DC’s bowlers could build on it.

KL Rahul: Record-Breaking, Yet Losing

KL Rahul won the Player of the Match award despite DC losing the game. His 152* off 67 balls was the highest individual score by an Indian batter in IPL history, breaking Abhishek Sharma’s record of 141. He was dropped on 12 – and responded by hitting 140 more runs without offering another chance.dailyhunt+1

The uncomfortable insight: KL Rahul’s innings created a paradox. A score so extraordinary that DC believed 264 was safe – yet a total so ambitious that it pressured their bowling unit to defend without margin for error. A slightly lower target of 240, reached with three wickets in hand and a more stable bowling setup, might have been a harder total to chase. In T20, your score only matters if your bowling can defend it.

Records Broken in This Match

Points Table & NRR Impact

Punjab Kings earned 2 crucial points from this win. Beyond the points, chasing 265 in 18.5 overs generates a significantly positive net run rate – which in a tightly contested IPL 2026 playoff race could separate two teams level on points. The Prabhsimran–Arya opening pair now has 323 runs in 6 innings at an average of 53.83 in IPL 2026, making them one of the most dangerous opening combinations in the tournament.timesofindia.

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