admin On a sweltering 41-degree day, 529 runs were plundered in 38.5 overs in a keenly awaited IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
In a match that yet again defined the modern-day scoring rate in T20 cricket, Punjab Kings scripted history by successfully upstaging their previous record to chase down 265 and defeat Delhi Capitals by six wickets.
It was a day when records fell like ninepins, starting from a monumental, unbeaten 152 off 67 balls hit by KL Rahul – the highest score by an Indian batter in the IPL and men’s T20 cricket.
Rahul’s innings was a blend of technical elegance and sheer boundary hitting, as he became only the third player in IPL history, after Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum, to get a score above 150.
Though Rahul’s efforts and Nitish Rana’s 91 off 44 balls, with the duo sharing a mammoth 220-run stand, took DC to 264/2, it was ultimately overshadowed by a collective display of breathless and ruthless batting from table-toppers PBKS.
Chasing a gigantic 265, PBKS batters displayed breathtaking audacity, something which has been their trademark in the competition, to hunt down the total with seven balls to spare. The foundation of the record-breaking chase was a ferocious powerplay, where Prabhsimran (76 off 26 balls, nine fours and five sixes) and Priyansh Arya (43 off 17 balls) plundered 116 runs.
Despite a brief middle-order wobble caused by Kuldeep Yadav, captain Shreyas Iyer anchored the finish with a composed, unbeaten 71 off 36 balls, studded with three fours and six sixes.
Delhi Capitals’ KL Rahul shakes hands with Punjab Kings’ Shreyas Iyer and Shashank Singh after the match. Reuters
Iyer was dropped twice by Karun Nair at the fag end and was well-supported by Shashank Singh (19 not out) as the table-toppers got over the line with clinical ease to prove that no target is safe in the current T20 cricket era.
Pathum Nissanka got the scoreboard moving for DC with a flicked boundary off Arshdeep Singh, while Rahul kickstarted his innings by dispatching Xavier Bartlett through a drive and flick. Arshdeep provided a breakthrough in the third over as Nissanka top-edged a pull to the wicketkeeper.
Meanwhile, vice-captain Ishan Kishan played a brilliant knock of 74 runs as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down 229 runs target in 18.3 overs and registered a dominant five-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 36th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
Earlier, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a brilliant century, followed by a half-century by Dhruv Jurel as the Rajasthan Royals posted 228/6 in 20 overs.
Chasing a massive target, Sunrisers Hyderabad had a shaky start as opener Travis Head was dismissed in the first over. He failed to make use of an early chance after being dropped by Dhruv Jurel off the first ball of Jofra Archer’s over, and scored just six off five balls.
However, the pressure didn’t last long as Nandre Burger’s next over released it, conceding 10 runs with a wide and a boundary. SRH vice-captain Ishan Kishan then counterattacked brilliantly, taking on Archer with three boundaries in the third over. Abhishek Sharma joined the charge, hitting three fours off Burger in the following over.
Abhishek also got a lifeline in the fifth over when Ravindra Jadeja dropped a simple catch. Kishan made full use of the momentum, smashing 19 runs in the final over of the powerplay as SRH raced to 89 runs in six overs.
Both batters brought up their fifties quickly, Abhishek off 24 balls and Kishan off 25,putting RR bowlers under immense pressure. Their 132-run partnership was finally broken on the last ball of the 10th over when Archer took a fine catch to dismiss Abhishek for 57 off 29 balls.
Kishan continued his aggressive batting alongside Heinrich Klaasen, keeping SRH firmly in control. He eventually fell for a match-winning 74 off 31 balls, edging a short ball from Archer.
After his dismissal, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Klaasen steadied the chase with smart running. Klaasen later hit a big six in the 17th over, with Nitish also clearing the ropes. Nitish scored 36 off 18 before getting out, while Klaasen made 29 off 24.
Agencies
