Yash Thakur had the perfect start to his IPL 2026 campaign on debut in Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals clash at Dharamsala by picking up a brilliant wicket. The right-arm pacer cleaned up Abishek Porel with a fantastic delivery to middle stump while Delhi Capitals are chasing a massive target of 211 runs.
Earlier, Punjab Kings posted a mammoth 210/5 in 20 overs, thanks to fifties from skipper Shreyas Iyer, opening batter Priyansh Arya and some late blitz from Suryansh Shedge. Delhi Capitals would have wanted a good start but Yash Thakur got the perfect breakthrough for Punjab Kings in their defence of 210.
WATCH: Yash Thakur Sends Middle Stump Flying
The delivery was bowled in the second over of the Delhi Capitals innings. With a full and straight delivery, the right-arm seamer bowled a ripper that left Abishek Porel in two minds. The batsman tried to play on the up but a large gap between bat and pad meant the ball cannoned into the middle stump and it went cartwheeling out of the ground.
Abishek Porel only scored 5 runs of 6 balls and it was the dream start in his maiden IPL 2026 appearance and got the Punjab Kings crowd jumping. Also, it handed Punjab Kings control over the chase while defending a big total under the lights at Dharamsala.
Also Read | Watch: Shreyas Iyer turns left handed! Hits maximum off Lungi Ngidi's deceiving slower in PBKS vs DC Contest
Punjab Kings Cross 200 After Strong Batting Show
Punjab Kings registered another high-octane batting display after being put in to bat after the toss. Priyansh Arya continued his stellar campaign at the helm of the batting with a quickfire 56 off just 33 deliveries which was inclusive of 6 sixes and 2 boundaries.
Prabhsimran Singh registered 18 runs as skipper Shreyas Iyer displayed his class with an undefeated 59 off just 36 deliveries. The skipper hammered 5 boundaries and 3 sixes on his way during his innings.
Australian youngsrer Cooper Connolly also played a handy role as he bagged 38 runs in his bag while Suryansh Shedge finished aggressively with an unbeaten 21 off merely 8 deliveries.
Punjab Kings were brilliant with 72 runs at the powerplay and continued to put pressure at the heart of the opposition as they posted 210/5 against Delhi Capitals, with the latter needing a huge total on a batting paradise.
Starc Goes Expensive for Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals bowlers seemed to have a forgettable time with them not able to keep the run-flow under check. Mitchell Starc went for a hefty 57 runs in his 4-over quota, managing only 2 late wickets towards the end of the innings.
The premier bowler went for 22 runs in his first over which recorded the most expensive opening over of his T20 career. Although Mitchell Starc and Madhav Tiwari managed to pick up a couple of wickets for themselves but Punjab Kings’ aggressive batting lineup managed to pile on more runs throughout the innings.
The surface was an absolute batting paradise, and with the presence of dew later in the night, Punjab Kings understood the need of getting early wickets at any cost and the express pace of Yash Thakur registered the scalp of the DC opener Porel.
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