Dharamshala, 12 May (H.S.): Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer has blamed the team's poor bowling and fielding for the defeat against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

In the thrilling match played on Monday night in Dharamshala, Punjab lost despite posting 210 runs. Iyer admitted that the team made crucial errors at key moments, paying the price with defeat.

Post-match, Shreyas Iyer said, “I don’t want to beat around the bush. Our fielding and bowling cost us the match. On this wicket, 210 runs were 30 runs too many because the ball was seaming and there was irregular bounce.”

He further stated that the team dropped two crucial catches of Delhi batsmen, which allowed the game to slip from Punjab's grasp.

Notably, Punjab Kings have dropped the most 19 catches in the season so far.

On the decision not to give Yuzvendra Chahal a single over, Iyer said, “We did consider bowling to him, but with the way the ball was seaming, we felt that if the pacers bowled in the right lines and lengths, we could take wickets.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t.”

In this Dharamshala encounter, Punjab Kings batted first and scored 210 for 5 in 20 overs. In reply, Delhi Capitals chased down the target, reaching 216 for 7 in 19 overs to secure a superb 3-wicket victory.

For Delhi, captain Axar Patel and David Miller played outstanding half-century knocks. Axar Patel completed his fifty with a boundary. Meanwhile, young all-rounder Madhav Tiwari contributed significantly with both bat and ball, playing a major role in the team's win.

With this victory, Delhi Capitals set a new record by chasing 211 at the Dharamshala ground—the highest successful run chase ever on this venue.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar