Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals were penalised during their IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala after failing to complete their overs within the stipulated time.Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel had won the toss and opted to field first, but the visitors struggled badly to contain Punjab Kings’ explosive batting line-up. The slow over-rate penalty came during the 20th over of the innings, forcing DC to keep only four fielders outside the 30-yard circle instead of the permitted five.
Punjab Kings made full use of the advantage and piled up a massive 210/5 in their 20 overs – their highest first-innings total against Delhi Capitals in IPL history.The innings was powered by another sensational knock from Priyansh Arya, who blasted 56 off just 33 balls, while captain Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings with an unbeaten 59 off 36 deliveries.Punjab Kings got off to a flying start in the powerplay, smashing 72 runs in the first six overs at a run rate of 12.00, including four boundaries and six sixes. Though Delhi Capitals briefly pulled things back in the middle overs, PBKS once again accelerated at the death, hammering 61 runs in the final five overs with five sixes.For Delhi Capitals, Mitchell Starc and Madhav Tiwari picked up two wickets each. However, it turned out to be a forgettable outing for Starc, who conceded 57 runs – the most expensive spell of his IPL career. It was also the second-most runs he has conceded in any T20 innings, behind the 60 he gave away against New Zealand during the 2021 T20 World Cup final in Dubai.Punjab Kings’ batting fireworks also continued their remarkable trend of 200-plus totals. PBKS now have seven 200-plus scores in IPL 2026, just one behind the joint IPL record of eight achieved by Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 and Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2026.Interestingly, Delhi Capitals bowled an all-pace attack throughout the innings, marking the 13th instance of a team bowling all 20 overs of pace in an IPL innings and the first such occurrence since 2016.
