IPL 2026: DC vs PBKS Highlights, Match 35 - Stats, Player of the Match & More

Punjab Kings (PBKS) continued their unbeaten run in the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026), beating Delhi Capitals (DC) by 6 wickets on Saturday, April 25 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. Batting first, Delhi posted a humongous score of 264/2 in their allotted 20 overs with KL Rahul scoring a record-breaking ton. He was well-supported by Nitish Rana, who also contributed with a belligerent 91 (44).

In reply, PBKS chased down the target in 18.5 overs with Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26) and captain Shreyas Iyer (71* off 36) leading the run chase. As a result, Punjab pulled off the highest successful chase not only in IPL but in T20 cricket to etch their name in the record books.

Earlier in the day, Delhi lost Pathum Nissanka (11 off 7) in the powerplay as Arshdeep Singh got him caught behind. After the early blow, Nitish Rana joined Rahul at the crease and the duo got involved in a massive stand. Rahul brought up his half-century off 26 balls, while Rana completed the milestone in 29 balls.

Rahul went on to score his sixth IPL century off 47 deliveries. However, Rana missed out on his hundred, getting caught by Shreyas Iyer at mid-off on 91. The duo added a massive 220 runs off 95 balls for the second wicket, the second-highest partnership in IPL history.

Meanwhile, Rahul continued his onslaught and became the first Indian batter to score 150 in IPL, guiding Delhi to their highest score in IPL (264/2). 

In the second innings, Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26) and Priyansh Arya (43 off 17) once again got Punjab off to a terrific start, adding 126 runs off 41 balls. After an explosive start, DC made a comeback in the game, dismissing both openers in back-to-back overs.

Cooper Conolly (17 off 10) also departed cheaply as Kuldeep struck again for DC, leaving Punjab on 145/3 in 9.3 overs. However, another match-winning knock from captain Shreyas Iyer (71* off 36) took PBKS over the line as he stitched crucial stands with Nehal Wadhera (25 off 15) and Shashank Singh (19* off 10).

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

KL Rahul was adjudged Player of the Match for his breathtaking innings of 152* (67), laced with 16 fours and nine sixes. He batted through the innings, stitching a crucial partnership with Nitish Rana to help DC post a massive score. It was also the third-highest individual score in IPL history. However, much to his dismay, Rahul's best knock of his IPL career ended in a losing cause.

Turning Point

Punjab Kings were 202/4 in 14.5 overs, needing 63 runs to win from 31 balls, when Karun Nair dropped Shreyas Iyer on 28 at long off. Another opportunity came his way two balls later. However, much to his dismay, he ended up dropping him again on long on. The drop catches came back to haunt DC, as Iyer, alongside Shashank Singh (19* off 10) took PBKS over the line in 18.5 overs.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Shreyas Iyer (Punjab Kings):

Absolutely. I'm running out of words, honestly speaking, because first of all, it was scorching hot to come out there and see bowlers getting hit for fours and sixes, you kind of lose your mindset. You don't know what to do in such a situation, but I know how the wicket was. We were actually presuming the wicket would turn, but there wasn't much turn to offer. Probably after the powerplay, when Yuzi (Chahal) came in to bowl, the ball was holding a bit, but wasn't creating much of an impact. Kudos to KL (Rahul). The way he played was fabulous and pleasing to the eye. (on his thoughts about chasing) In my mind, I was just saying that whatever they get from here on, I think we just have to score one more run and ensure we become victorious. And that was the mindset, nothing more, honestly speaking, because whatever balls the bowlers were bowling at that particular time, I think he was improvising and he was playing beautiful shots (on KL). So it didn't look like he was trying really hard. I just said to myself that if they can, we can too. (On the dressing room chat before the chase) We discussed that in the previous games, we chased around 220–225 with two overs left. So the mindset was very much similar. Get as many runs as possible in the powerplay and they just went bonkers from ball one and steadied the ship for us. And the rest of us, we just wanted to capitalise on the start. (Speaking about the bowling and fielding) Right now, we just want to have as much fun as possible and relax because we had three days of hard work, practicing in the heat and playing in the heat. So, you know, relax a bit and then the day after, we'll rejuvenate and probably go back to the drawing board to see how we can come back stronger and plan successfully regarding the opponents we'll be playing in the future.

Losing Captain, Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals):

 Looking at the kind of wicket, if you don’t support your bowlers and keep giving away so many chances, then I feel we deserved to lose. That’s the main point. It was a good pitch and a small ground, so sixes were always going to be hit. However, when opportunities arise and you don’t take even one, you drop chances, as we did today. On a wicket like this, if you don’t back your bowlers, it becomes difficult. At the same time, we also need to look at our bowling unit. The way we bowled in the powerplay, the fast bowlers, the fielding, and the opportunities we missed were the main reasons. Because on a wicket like this, 264 was a very good score. If you look at the positives, we scored 264, which is a record score in the Indian Premier League. This shows that if luck goes your way a little and you take your catches, you can win two or three matches in a row. If you look at the matches we are losing, many were close games. That’s what I said at the toss as well, if we can grab the crucial moments, then two or three results could have gone our way and we could keep winning. But the key is that you have to seize those moments. It can’t keep happening that you come in every time and repeat the same mistakes. So I think we’ll go back, review it again, see what we can do, and where we can improve.