Despite scoring 264 runs in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Delhi Capitals (DC) had to face a crushing defeat. In this match played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday (April 25), DC team looked scattered while defending the total. Punjab Kings (PBKS) achieved the target of 265 runs in just 18.5 overs. After this defeat, DC Cricket Director Venugopal Rao said that the team had to face defeat due to poor fielding and injury to main fast bowler Lungi Ngidi.
For DC, KL Rahul played an unbeaten inning of 152 runs, due to which the team put a pile of runs on the board but PBKS proved it to be dwarf. After the match, Venugopal told the media, ‘Not just two, we dropped about six catches. If you drop catches at important times, it is difficult to win such matches. We should have capitalized on the opportunities of players like Prabhasimran, Priyansh Arya and Shreyas. If we drop the catch, we cannot defend the target.
Also read: PBKS executed the biggest run chase in T20 history, DC lost by scoring 264 runs.
What did Venugopal say on Lungi Ngidi’s injury?
When asked about Lungi Ngidi’s injury, Venugopal said, ‘At the moment we feel that the injury is not serious. The player is currently in the hospital. We will give updates but the situation is not very worrying. South African fast bowler Ngidi was taken to a local hospital by ambulance after being injured. Now his condition is stable and he will be discharged from the hospital soon. In the third over of Punjab Kings’ innings, Ngidi, standing at mid-off, ran backwards to catch Priyansh Arya’s shot off captain Akshar Patel’s ball but could not guess the ball correctly and fell due to loss of balance. During this his shoulder and head hit the ground hard.
Venugopal said, ‘The safety of the players comes first. We play this game, but safety is paramount. If Ngidi had bowled, his 24 balls i.e. four overs would have made a big difference for the team. He has bowled well in almost all the matches. We hope that Ngidi will recover soon and return.
Also read: Major accident in IPL match, Ngidi suffered head injury, ambulance reached the field
Venugopal praised Rahul
Praising Rahul, former Indian batsman Venugopal said, ‘The credit goes to KL Rahul for scoring such a big score. The way he handled the batting was brilliant. It was difficult to understand how the pitch was playing but he played good shots continuously. His game was praiseworthy till the last over.
He further said, ‘Our batsmen adapted themselves according to the conditions, credit should be given to them for this. No one expected the pitch to be so good. Punjab also batted well and did not let the match slip away. His batting in the first six overs changed the match.
Venugopal said that PBKS had decided the course of the match in the powerplay itself. He said, ‘We did not take Punjab lightly. They are playing good cricket and were on top of the points table. In this format, teams play aggressively. Powerplay is very important. When he scored more than 110 runs in six overs, the course of the match changed from there.
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