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Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match number 55 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) was played at the most beautiful stadium in the world at the HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala. DC took their revenge on Shreyas Iyer’s team in the reverse fixture, winning the game by 3 wickets and keeping their playoff hopes alive.
DC captain Akshar Patel won the toss and decided to bowl first. They made five changes in the match: Abhishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, David Miller, Auqib Nabi and Madhav Tiwary, making way for Kuldeep Yadav, Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Karun Nair and T Natarajan. PBKS also made one change, which was forced as Lockie Ferguson was ruled out with injury and Ben Dwarshius made his debut.
Shreyas Iyer leads the charge for PBKS
After being invited to bat first, PBKS openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh got off to a brilliant start, scoring 50 runs inside three overs as PBKS scored 72 runs without losing any wicket in the power play. The former was aggressive, completing his half-century in 24 balls. Prabhasimran never got going and returned after scoring 18 runs.
DC bowlers then made a slight comeback and picked up wickets as Priyansh Arya was out early at the score of 56, while debutant Madhav Tiwary provided the breakthrough. After this, Shreyas Iyer and Cooper Connolly made a partnership of 83 runs, Cooper was out after scoring 36 runs, Shreyas scored his half-century in 32 balls.
Shreyas Iyer played a more powerful innings in the first innings and remained unbeaten at the end of the innings after scoring 59 runs on 36 balls. Suryansh Shedge’s blazing 21 off 8 balls helped Punjab cross the 200-run mark as PBKS posted 210/5 in their 20 overs.
Captain Akshar Patel steps up for DC
While chasing the target, DC lost Abhishek Porel at the beginning of the second over, with Yash Thakur troubling the batsman. Then KL Rahul also departed soon, leaving the Capitals on the backfoot. They lost Sahil Parakh for 13 runs and the visitors were struggling with the score at 33/3. Then there was a short partnership of 41 runs between captain Akshar Patel and Tristan Stubbs.
Stubbs returned to cause a major upset on 12 runs. David Miller and Akshar then built a partnership and the DC captain completed his half-century in 28 balls, but he soon came back to score 56 runs. Miller was out on the very next ball after scoring a half-century on the score of 51 runs.
Later, two short cameo innings from Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwary, scoring 24* off 10 balls and 18* off 8 balls, sealed the deal for the Capitals, and Auqib Nabi scored the winning runs with 10 off 2 balls.
Shreyas Iyer angry after four consecutive defeats, said- I will not go here and there
Shreyas Iyer was angry after the defeat and blamed his bowling attack and fielders for dropping catches. The defeat was the fourth consecutive defeat for the Punjab team, raising concerns for their qualification, which is still fourth in the league table.
After the defeat, Shreyas Iyer said, “I wouldn’t go around; I would just focus on fielding and bowling. (If he thought 210 was a good score) Absolutely, I think 30 runs was more on this wicket, given how the ball was seaming and the variable bounce.”
“(On bowling to Chahal) I had exactly one idea in my mind, but the way the ball was seaming and the way the seamers were getting help, I think if we had executed our line and length accurately, we would have been able to take wickets, but unfortunately again, we were not able to do that. (How to bowl here) is still on the surface.”
Shreyas Iyer concluded, “I always say that hard length – shorter than hard length – is the best ball, especially when a new batsman is coming in. It is not easy to hit it because if you keep repeating those balls, there is a chance to mishit at least one ball and you can get a wicket. We have been short on planning.”
Also Read: IPL Points Table 2026: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap after PBKS vs DC Match 55