With the bat swinging freely in the Dharamshala breeze, the Punjab Kings bowlers seemed more focused on bowling down the mound of the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala than testing the shaky Delhi Capitals middle order. The Shreyas Iyer-led side gave away 17 wides and 1 no-ball as they faltered in defense against struggling DC on Monday, May 11.
The PBKS bowling unit crumbled under pressure and the defense as a whole turned into yet another collapse of execution in a rapidly fading campaign. Their inability to control lines, build sustained pressure or capitalize on key moments exposed the recurring mistakes that have plagued Punjab all season.
Just 18 extras reflected the chaos in their bowling plans. Add to that the wasted chances, inconsistent lengths and PBKS were once again losing control of a game they had tightly gripped on the powerplay.
PBKS suffered its fourth straight defeat after a magical unbeaten start to the 2026 Indian Premier League season.
“I don’t want to beat around the bush. I’ll just say fielding and bowling,” Iyer said after the match against DC.
PBKS BOWLING WILL NOT CAPITALIZE
Punjab’s bowling has been a perennial problem throughout the season. They have conceded the fewest wickets of any team in the competition, a worrying statistic that consistently reveals their inability to break partnerships at key stages. Their problems have only gotten worse with poor fielding support as PBKS also leads the charts for most sacks this season.
Against Delhi, their impenetrability after the power play hurt them. PBKS had DC reeling at 33 for 3 at the start of the chase, with the seamers extracting some movement under the lights and forcing mistakes. But once the ball went soft, Punjab’s attack completely lost direction.
The biggest turning point came when PBKS failed to capitalize after Tristan Stubbs was exhausted. With Delhi at 74 for 4, Axar Patel got a lifeline on 25 when Arshdeep Singh dropped the chance in regulation. Punjab’s inability to convert half-chances into goals has repeatedly cost them this season and the mistake has proved just as damaging.
Prior to this match, Axar had managed just 44 runs off 59 balls at a strike rate of 74.57 in a season. Still, PBKS allowed him to cope with loose lines and poor execution in the middle overs. Once he found a rhythm against the walkers, the chase completely tilted in Delhi’s favour.
Axar registered his first fifty-plus score of the season and laid the platform for Delhi to complete the highest successful chase in the history of the HPCA Stadium.
Even after Axar left, PBKS failed to regain control. Marc Jansen’s 16th over became the defining moment of the chase as David Miller dismantled Punjab’s death bowling with clinical ease. Miller collected 15 runs in the over before dismantling Ben Dwarshuis with consecutive sixes in the next over. The contrast between the two sides at death was stark. Miller added 51 off just 28 balls to torment PBKS.
A tense finish quickly turned into a comfortable chase as PBKS failed to create even a brief squeeze in the final overs.
“I always say that hard length, short length is the best ball, especially when a new batsman comes in,” Iyer added. “It’s not easy to hit because if you keep repeating those balls, there’s a chance you’re going to mishit and get a wicket. We lacked planning.”
SPIN WOULD HELP
There will also be questions surrounding Punjab’s bowling strategy. PBKS combined to bowl seven overs to Marcus Stoinis and Yash Thakur who escaped with 99 runs for just three wickets despite having Yuzvendra Chahal at their disposal.
“Absolutely it was a thought. But the way the ball was being sewn for the seamers, if we had executed our plans exactly, we might have got wickets,” Shreyas added on why he didn’t use Yuzi’s services.
to be fair Delhi Capitals have adopted a similar template. They too left out top spinner Kuldeep Yadav and relied almost exclusively on pace. In fact, even DC captain Axar Patel wasn’t looking.
“The wicket behaved differently today. After the first few overs, especially when Auqib Nabi was bowling, I felt the ball was swinging and swinging as well,” Axar added after the match. “Even though I gave extra overs to Madhav and Auqib, something was happening with the ball. So I thought if the pacers were getting help, I should keep using them instead of pulling on.”
The match witnessed 39 overs bowled, the second most in IPL history after Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Chennai Super Kings in 2008, underlining how strongly both teams read the conditions.
However, the key difference was the execution. Delhi’s pacers adapted quickly, tightened their length and consistently forced Punjab to take risks at the end. PBKS, on the other hand, despite seeing similar help with the ball early on, gradually lost their discipline as the innings progressed.
For Punjab, this was not just a defeat born of missed opportunities. It was another reminder that their bowling unit continues to crack under pressure. in Dharamshala,
Not only did PBKS not lose a match, but the bowling failures pushed them further down the hill of playoff contention.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
12 May 2026 08:10 IST
