3 Reasons PBKS Lost To DC IPL 2025: The Delhi Capitals defeated the Punjab Kings by six wickets while chasing 207 runs in Match 66 of the Indian Premier League 2025. The match was played on Saturday, May 24, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
The Punjab Kings, despite having already qualified for the playoffs, needed a win here in their quest for a top-two finish. This team is having their best season in a decade, having started with wins over GT and LSG. This match was followed by a loss to RR, a win over CSK, and a defeat to CSK. PBKS then won against KKR and RCB, only to suffer defeat against RCB. Their next match against KKR was abandoned due to rain. Then came three wins in a row for Punjab against CSK, LSG, and RR. Now, after their loss to DC tonight, the Kings have eight wins, four losses, one washout, 17 points, and a positive net run rate in 13 matches, putting them second on the points table.
As for the Delhi Capitals, they are out of the race for the playoffs in IPL 2025. They started the season off in a fine fashion, winning four games in a row against LSG, SRH, CSK, and RCB. Then came their first loss of the season to MI, followed by a win over RR, a defeat to GT, and a victory against LSG. In the next five matches, Delhi lost the plot and did not win a single game, losing to RCB, KKR, GT, and MI, while their game against SRH was abandoned due to rain. After tonight’s win against PBKS, the Capitals end their season with seven wins, six losses, one washout, 15 points, and a neutral net run rate and will finish fifth in the league table.
Today, we will look back at three reasons why PBKS, who needed a win here to strengthen their push for the top two, lost this game.
3 Reasons PBKS Lost To DC IPL 2025
3) Fine Bowling At The Death By Mustafizur Rahman
As a whole, the Delhi Capitals did not put on a great display of death overs bowling, with one clear standout. While Mukesh Kumar and Mohit Sharma gave away 25 and 22 runs in the 17th and 19th overs, respectively, Mustafizur Rahman bowled two out of the last five overs and conceded only 14.
The Bangladeshi fast bowler came in to bowl the 16th over. At this point, the Punjab Kings were at 142/4. An in-form captain, Shreyas Iyer, was at the strike at 46 off 28 with death overs specialist Shashank Singh. In this over, Rahman stuck to bowling a cramping line to the two right-hand bowlers from over the wicket, eventually trapping Shashank on the fourth ball of the over, getting him caught out. Only four runs were scored in this over.
Then, after carnage rained down at the hands of Marcus Stoinis in the 19th, Mustafizur came in to bowl the final over of the match. The veteran pacer stuck to his lengths and dismissed Marco Jansen on the third ball. Rahman did miss his line and was punished with a six by Harpreet Brar. But for the final over of an inning, conceding only 10 runs is a win for the bowler, especially after the previous over went for over 20.
Mustafizur Rahman ended his four-over spell with figures of 3/33 with an economy of 8.25, conceding most of these runs in the powerplay overs.
Check Out: 3 Reasons PBKS Lost To DC IPL 2025
2) Disappointing Bowling By PBKS
The Punjab Kings, on occasion, have shown that they have among the best bowling attacks in IPL 2025. But on a pitch that did have a little grass on it, their PBKS bowling disappointed, and they were not able to defend a target of 207. While it must be said that this pitch in Jaipur became more batting-friendly as the match went on, the Kings have a solid enough bowling unit to defend scores over 200.
However, that was not the case in this Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match. From the word go, DC kept up with the manageable required run rate. At no point in the second inning did it seem that the bowling attack had things in control. 61 runs were scored in the powerplay. Then, in the middle overs, Harpreet Brar and Marco Jansen conceded too many runs.
Arshdeep Singh was the most economical bowler, giving away just 35 in four overs at an economy of 8.75. Brar might have been the pick of the bowlers, taking two crucial wickets, but he also gave away 41 runs in four overs. Jansen did not impress much either, conceding 41 in four and taking one wicket.
Azmatullah Omarzai had the worst outing out of all Punjab bowlers, giving away 46 in four overs at an economy of 11.50 and taking no wickets. The pair of Praveen Dubey and Marcus Stoinis bowled 3.3 overs together, conceding 41 runs in them.
1) Sameer Rizvi Leads the DC Batting Order
But why was the Punjab Kings bowling not able to defend a decent target? That was because of a well-rounded effort by the DC batting. The opening pair of KL Rahul and Faf du Plessis, after not scoring too many runs together, had a 50-run partnership in just the first five overs of the inning. The powerplay ended with the score of 61/1, with only Rahul getting out in the first six for 35 off 21.
And while Faf was dismissed soon after, the pair of Karun Nair and IPL debutant Sediqullah Atal kept the flow of runs strong. When Atal got out for 22 off 16 in the 11th over, the team’s score was 93/3. This is when the hero of this inning walked in, Sameer Rizvi.
Nair and Rizvi built a 62-run partnership in the next five overs, ensuring that the innings would not slow down in the middle overs. Karun, who was recently named in the Indian Cricket Team squad for the Test series in England, made 44 off 27 and got out at the end of the 15th over.
With 52 runs required in the last five overs, Rizvi took charge, hitting regular boundaries. He even scored a six to end the match in the 20th over. Sameer Rizvi scored 58* off 25, finished the game off in style, and was named the Player of the Match in this Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals game.
Check Out: 3 Reasons PBKS Lost To DC IPL 2025
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