Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium: Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to field against Punjab Kings in the Match 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, on Monday.
For the Delhi Capitals, it is now or never. After the eliminations of Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians on Sunday, DC remain only mathematically alive in the playoff race. Sitting eighth with eight points from 11 games, another defeat will officially end their campaign. PBKS, meanwhile, have hit a slight slump with three consecutive defeats after a dominant start that saw them win six of their first seven matches. Even so, they are still firmly in contention, and a victory here could propel them back to the top of the table.
Axar Patel tried to keep the mood light, saying at least there was one thing going right for him, and that was winning the toss. He said DC had not been playing bad cricket but admitted they had lost key moments in matches on a number of occasions. Axar said the team wanted to stay true to its brand of cricket and take the results as they come.
“You don’t know how pitches are playing until you play on them,” says Shreyas. "Don't think too much about the points table, just focus on the little details and back your instincts," he says. He says that is what they have lacked in the last few matches - believing in their instincts. "Ups and downs are part of the IPL, and it is all about getting the best performance. Shreyas: Dwarshuis comes in for Lockie, who has a slight niggle. That is the only change for the Punjab Kings.
Punjab Kings made two changes to their side, bringing in Priyansh Arya and Ben Dwarshuis in place of Vyshak Vijaykumar and Lockie Ferguson. Delhi Capitals, meanwhile, rang in five changes, with Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, David Miller, Madhav Tiwari, and Auqib Nabi replacing Sameer Rizvi, Nitish Rana, Pathum Nissanka, Ashutosh Sharma, and Vipraj Nigam.
Playing XIs:
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Madhav Tiwari, Mukesh Kumar, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc
Impact substitutes: Sameer Rizvi, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Tripurana Vijay, Pathum Nissanka
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Madhav Tiwari, Mukesh Kumar, Auqib Nabi, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc
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Impact substitutes: Vishnu Vinod, Yash Ravisingh Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey