IPL 2026— In a thrilling match played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium on Monday night, *Delhi Capitals (DC)* defeated *Punjab Kings (PBKS)* by 3 wickets. Chasing the huge target of 211 runs, Delhi achieved victory in the 19th over itself. For Punjab Kings, this is the *fourth consecutive defeat* of the current season, which deprived the team of the opportunity to top the points table.

IPL 2026: Shreyas Iyer got angry after the defeat from Delhi, broke his silence on not giving the over to Chahal

PBKS vs DC: Bowling and poor fielding became the reason for Punjab’s defeat.

Batting first, Punjab Kings scored a strong score of *210/5* with the help of half-centuries from *Shreyas Iyer (59)* and **Priyansh Arya (56)*. Delhi had a poor start to chase the target and at one point the score was 33/3. But the stormy innings of Delhi captain *Akshar Patel (56)* and *David Miller (51)* turned the tide of the match. Punjab’s bowlers gave away a lot of runs in the last overs, especially in the 19th over, *Yash Thakur* gave 22 runs, due to which the match went out of Punjab’s grasp.

Shreyas Iyer’s statement: Why was Chahal not given bowling?

Captain Shreyas Iyer looked very disappointed after the match. The biggest question on social media and in the cricket world was why despite being in the playing eleven, not even a single over was bowled from Yuzvendra Chahal, one of the best spinners in the world. Giving clarification on this, Iyer cited the condition of the pitch.

“To be honest, we are very angry. We again made the same mistakes in fielding that we have been making in the last three matches. The decision not to bowl to Chahal was difficult, but considering the dew and the help the fast bowlers were getting on the pitch, we took the risk of going with the pacers. However, in the end this decision went against us.”
— Captain, Punjab Kings

Path to playoff becomes difficult after defeat in Dharamshala

This defeat of Punjab has not only disappointed the fans but has also made the team’s *path to the playoffs* challenging. Amidst the strong outfield and cold winds of Dharamshala, Punjab players were seen dropping catches, regarding which coach Ricky Ponting has also expressed strong displeasure. The team will now prepare for the next match, where they will have to make major changes in their bowling strategy and fielding unit.