PBKS vs DC Match 57 Recap: Mullanpur Late Drama Decoded

PBKS vs DC at the Maharaja Yadavindra Stadium in Mullanpur went to the final over with one wicket and 11 runs in the equation, and the captaincy call that decided it will be debated long after the season ends. Punjab Kings batted first, Delhi Capitals chased, and a 19th-over decision tilted the scales just enough. Here is the recap, with the chase math, the captaincy review and the Dream11 retro.

Scorecard at a glance

• Punjab Kings: 176/7 in 20 overs (Cameron Green 58, Sam Curran 41, Maxwell 28; Kuldeep Yadav 3/27, Mukesh Kumar 2/34)
• Delhi Capitals: 174/9 in 20 overs (Pant 53, Stubbs 41, Fraser-McGurk 30; Chahal 3/22, Arshdeep 2/38, Rabada 2/35)
• Result: Punjab Kings won by 2 runs

A two-run win in a low-scoring contest came down to one over. Mullanpur played slower than expected, and the chase looked safe at the 16-over mark before unravelling. The full ladder shift is on the IPL 2026 points table.

Last-over chase math

DC needed 11 off 6 with one wicket. Sam Curran chose Arshdeep Singh ahead of Rabada (who had one over left) for the 20th. The reasoning: Arshdeep's yorker rate is the league's best, and the batter at strike was Mukesh Kumar (a No. 11). The execution was clinical.

Ball	Bowler	Outcome	Required
20.1	Arshdeep	Dot (yorker)	11 off 5
20.2	Arshdeep	2 (mid-on)	9 off 4
20.3	Arshdeep	4 (back-of-length pull)	5 off 3
20.4	Arshdeep	Dot	5 off 2
20.5	Arshdeep	2 (yorker squeezed)	3 off 1
20.6	Arshdeep	Wicket (full toss caught)	-2

The second ball might have been four if the fielder at long-on had not saved it, and the fifth ball could easily have been a boundary. This is the margin in T20 cricket.

Innings 1: Cameron Green sets the platform

Punjab's 176 was built on a 95-run third-wicket stand between Cameron Green and Sam Curran. Green's 58 off 41 was the night's most underrated knock, taking on Kuldeep Yadav specifically. Maxwell came in late and made 28 off 17, a useful but not match-defining cameo.

The death overs were rough. Mukesh Kumar bowled the 17th and 19th, conceded 18 in those two overs combined, and that's where 195 became 176. Kuldeep's 3-wicket spell was the night's best for DC.

Innings 2: Pant and Stubbs build, Chahal takes them apart

Pant's 53 off 38 had the captain's usual mix of nudges and outrageous slog-sweeps. He found Tristan Stubbs to anchor at 4, and Stubbs played the 30-ball 41 of his early career. At 134/3 in the 14th, the chase was almost done.

Then Chahal arrived for the 15th. He removed Stubbs in his second ball back, then trapped Axar Patel LBW with a flipper in the 16th, and the chase wobbled. From 134/3 it became 154/7 in 18.4 overs.

For more on Chahal's comeback season, see Chahal at PBKS form curve.

Top 3 turning points

1. Chahal removing Stubbs and Axar in his last two overs: Win-prob delta: +21% PBKS.
2. Mukesh's 17th over leaking 9 with a wide: Set up a target that became chaseable. Win-prob delta: -8% PBKS.
3. Curran's call to use Arshdeep for the 20th: Match-decider. Win-prob delta: +28% PBKS.

Captaincy review

Sam Curran (PBKS) — A-: Won the toss and chose right, used Chahal in the 15-18 phase rather than the death, and the 20th-over bowler call was the difference. Lost half a grade for letting Mukesh have two death overs.

Axar Patel (c) (DC) — B: Captained well in the field, especially using Kuldeep at the death. The mistake: held back too long with Mukesh in the 17th. As a batter he had a useful cameo before the LBW that broke the chase.

Iyer vs Axar focus

This was billed as the captain duel of seasoned campaigners, but it was Axar Patel's LBW in the 16th to Chahal that broke the chase. Axar had been DC's death-overs accelerator all season. Without him at 8, DC didn't have a finisher with the strike rate to convert 11 off 6.

Dream11 retro grade

Player	Role	Points	Verdict
Chahal	Captain	116	Elite
Cameron Green	VC	88	Strong
Kuldeep	Bowler	78	Strong
Pant	Captain hedge	74	Solid
Arshdeep	Bowler diff	64	Sneaky good

Captain Chahal in this matchup was the contrarian high-EV pick. The cap-race predictor had him 4 wickets back of Bumrah; he closed half that gap tonight. Full Dream11 hub at /dream11.

Playoff and NRR implications

PBKS climb to fifth on 12 points; their NRR ticks up from -0.05 to -0.02 after a 2-run win. DC stay sixth on 11 points but their NRR drops from +0.05 to +0.01. The bottom-half bunch is now within one win of each other. See the NRR table breakdown.

What this means going forward

PBKS have rediscovered the bowling unit that won them games in March. Chahal and Arshdeep are the difference-makers; without them PBKS look very ordinary. DC have a top-order issue: when Pant or Stubbs don't fire, the middle order collapses. Three of their four next games are away.

FAQ

Q: Who won PBKS vs DC Match 57? A: Punjab Kings won by 2 runs at Mullanpur, defending 176 against DC's 174/9.

Q: Who was Player of the Match? A: Yuzvendra Chahal for his 3/22 in 4 overs, including the wickets of Stubbs and Axar.

Q: Why did Curran choose Arshdeep over Rabada for the 20th? A: Arshdeep's yorker accuracy was a better matchup against the No. 11 batter at strike.

Q: How does this affect PBKS playoff chances? A: PBKS climb to fifth on 12 points and their NRR improves marginally.

Q: Where can I see the full ball-by-ball? A: The full archive is on our live page.