Delhi Capitals stunned Punjab Kings as it chased down a 211-run target to stay alive in the IPL 2026 race to playoffs.
The first match of the season at the scenic HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala saw ball the new ball flying over the ropes while also aiding pace bowlers with a swing and seam.
Priyansh Arya began the match with a six and Auqib Nabi finished the contest with a maximum as well. In between though, bowlers made the fixture exciting with some brilliant spells from Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar, and all-round efforts from Madhav Tiwari.
Here are the player ratings from the match between PBKS and DC:
PUNJAB KINGS
Prabhsimran Singh: 2 — The opener played second fiddle to Priyansh and couldn’t get a move on. He was caught at boundary after scoring 18 off 15 balls (3 fours).
Priyansh Arya: 4 — Priyansh got off to a flyer, unleashing a flurry of boundaries in the PowerPlay but slowed down after the first six. Priyansh was eventually dismissed for 56 off 33 balls (2 fours, 6 sixes).
Cooper Connolly: 2.5 — The Australian batter played through the middle overs and found occasional boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking (38 off 27 balls; 3 fours and 2 sixes).
Shreyas Iyer: 4 — The PBKS captain scored a crucial half-century, playing with attacking intent to take his team past the 200-run mark (59 off 36 balls not out; 5 fours and 3 sixes).
Suryansh Shedge: 5 — The young all-rounder came in the penultimate over and hit Mitchell Starc for two sixes and a four, giving a much-needed boost to the team total (21 off 8 balls not out; 2 fours and 2 sixes).
Marcus Stoinis: 2 — The Australian all-rounder fell cheaply, scoring 1 off 2 balls.
With the ball, Stoinis was expensive despite picking the wicket of Axar Patel (1/44 in 3 overs).Shashank Singh: 3.5 — It was a poor outing for Shashank, who got a golden duck. Starc got him out in the penultimate over. He was later subbed out (0 off 1 ball).
Marco Jansen: 2.5 — The left-arm pacer couldn’t utilise the pace friendly conditions and returned wicketless in his quota (0/45 in 4 overs).
Ben Dwarshuis: 2 — Making his IPL debut, the Australia pacer didn’t have a memorable outing as he was targeted by all DC batters and returned wicketless (0/51 in 4 overs).
Arshdeep Singh: 9.5 — The India pacer had a splendid outing with the ball, picking two wickets inside the PowerPlay to push DC on the backfoot (2/21 in 4 overs).
Yash Thakur: 3 — Despite claiming two wickets, Thakur erred on lengths often to give away the pressure (2/55 in 4 overs).
DELHI CAPITALS
KL Rahul: 2 — Opening the innings, Rahul fell early in the chase miscuing a pull shot off Arshdeep (9 off 8 balls; 2 fours).
Abishek Porel: 2 — Playing as an opener, Porel couldn’t add much to the chase, falling in the second over (5 off 6 balls; 1 four).
Sahil Parakh: 3.5 — The youngster showed glimpses of his potential with some glorious shots, but his innings was cut short by Arshdeep (13 off 6 balls; 1 four and 1 six).
Tristan Stubbs: 2.5 — The middle order batter couldn’t get going. To make things worse for him, his innings ended with a run out after a miscommunication with Axar Patel (12 off 17 balls; 1 four).
David Miller: 5 — The South African batter was at this absolute best and scored a 27-ball fifty to take DC close to the finish line (51 off 28 balls; 3 fours and 4 sixes)
Axar Patel: 4.5 — The DC captain didn’t bowl himself in the first innings but set up the game for his team with the bat, scoring a crucial half-century (56 off 30 balls; 8 fours and 2 sixes).
Madhav Tiwari: 7.5 — The 22-year-old all-rounde gave crucial breakthroughs in the form of Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly (2/40 in four overs). He later played a crucial hand with the bat remaining unbeaten on 18 off 8 balls (2 fours and 1 six).
Mukesh Kumar: 7 — The skiddy quick made use of the nipping conditions and gave DC control in the middle overs. He also got the wicket of Prabhsimran Singh (1/31 in four overs).
Auqib Nabi Dar: 6 — The seamer finished his quota in his first spell itself. He got the ball to swing a bit as well but went wicketless in his four overs (0/32). Nabi got the opportunity to finish the game, and he did with a six.
Mitchell Starc: 1 — The Australian pacer was taken to the cleaners despite picking two wickets in two balls in the penultimate over of the match (2/57 in four overs).
Lungi Ngidi: 4 — The South African used his dipping slower ball variations well but still ended up conceding a few in the initial overs (0/46 in four overs).
Ashutosh Sharma: 5.5 — DC’s designated finisher once again came at a crucial time and found the fence at the right time (24 off 10 balls; 2 fours and 2 sixes).
The rating points are an output of a relative grading based on CricViz Match Impact scores from the PBKS vs DC match.
CricViz Match Impact quantifies the additional or reduced runs contributed by a player in comparison to an average player operating within the identical game context. Each delivery is assessed and assigned a positive or negative run value, reflecting how it influences the team’s expected total.
