IPL 2026: KL Rahul's 152-run knock goes in vain as Punjab Kings secure win by six wickets

Delhi Capitals’s KL Rahul celebrates his century against Punjab Kings in New Delhi on Saturday. Pics/PTI, IPL

The KL Rahul-Nitish Rana combo for Delhi Capitals or Priyansh Arya-Prabhsimran Singh for Punjab Kings? It was a tough call, but in the end, the latter sealed the deal for PBKS, aided by DC's dropped catches and a serious injury to key pacer Lungi Ngidi, as PBKS registered a record run chase in T20s to beat DC by six wickets and remain the only unbeaten team after seven games here on Saturday.

Rahul smashed a brilliant unbeaten 152 off 67 balls - the highest score by an Indian in T20s - to power DC to a mammoth 264-2. But it wasn't enough as PBKS chased down the target with seven balls to spare, thanks to a 126-run opening stand off just 6.5 overs between Prabhsimran (76 off 26 balls) and Arya (43 off 17 balls). Prabhsimran's knock was laced with nine fours and five sixes.

PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh in full flow en route his 76 off 26 balls

Skipper Shreyas Iyer's scintillating yet controlled unbeaten 71, along with Shashank Singh's unbeaten 19, helped the visitors cross the line easily.
Speaking about the opening stand Arya said, "We were confident of scoring a hundred in the Powerplay. The pitch was very good."

There was a 15-minute stoppage after Ngidi suffered a concussion while attempting a catch off Arya. He was strapped and taken off the field in an ambulance. Vipraj Nigam came in as the concussion substitute. "Ngidi is stable and is due to be discharged shortly from the hospital," IPL said on X.

PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer greets DC captain Axar Patel after his team's record chase

Earlier, DC posted their highest total after electing to bat. Rahul's record knock included 16 fours and nine sixes. He was well supported by Rana (91 off 44 balls) during the 220-run stand for the second wicket.

DC skipper Axar Patel was unhappy with the fielding. "We're making the same mistakes repeatedly. If you don't support the bowlers on such a wicket, I think you deserve to lose. At the same time, our bowling unit also needs to take a look [at itself], given their score in the Powerplay," said Axar.

152'
No. of runs scored by KL Rahul on Saturday - the highest individual score by an Indian in men's T20s

47
No. of balls taken by KL Rahul to reach 100 - the fastest century for DC in IPL

220
No. of runs put on by KL Rahul & Nitish Rana on Saturday - the second-highest partnership for any wicket in IPL

One
KL Rahul is the first player in IPL to score multiple centuries for three different teams - two each for PBKS, LSG, and DC

116-0
No. of runs scored by PBKS in the first six over on Saturday - their highest Powerplay score in IPL

14.2
No. of overs taken by Punjab Kings to reach 200 - the third fastest in IPL

33
Total sixes smashed by DC and PBKS on Saturday - the most in Delhi in IPL

292.31
Prabhsimran Singh's strike-rate on Saturday - the fifth-fastest in an IPL innings (minimum 25 balls)

Brief scores
DC 264-2 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 152', N Rana 91) lost to PBKS 265-4 in 18.5 overs (P Singh 76, S Iyer 71', P Arya 43; K Yadav 2-46) by six wickets