Watch: Mukesh Choudhary sends back Pathum Nissanka for 19 in DC vs CSK IPL 2026 clash

The two sides, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals, are stuck in the middle-half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as they keep their hopes alive to get qualified for the playoffs of the competition. Their meeting at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was the do-or-die contest for the top four-spot.

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The Delhi Capitals’ captain, Axar Patel, won the toss and decided to bat first on a surface that had a few cracks on it and was expected to get slow in the second innings. Moreover, Chennai’s struggles in chases in the last several years have also pushed them to make the decision.

Mukesh Choudhary removes Pathum Nissanka in IPL 2026

Pathum Nissanka, who played a fabulous knock in their previous game against the Rajasthan Royals, got the backing from their coaching management to be part of the contest. He opened the account with a fine sweep on the very first ball for a boundary into the backward square leg region.

Watch the video here: 

Nissanka ended the over against the left-arm spinner, Akeal Hosein, with an edgy boundary behind the stumps. It wasn’t an easy strip to play the free-flowing shots, given the slowness, but the Sri Lankan batter was playing the field.

CSK introduced their left-arm pacer, Mukesh Choudhary, from the other end. Nissanka picked the short delivery away from his body and powered it over the cover for a boundary before playing the funky shot behind the stumps by padding it over the fine leg region for a six.

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But the Maharashtra pacer had the last laugh on the very last delivery of the over. He cut the pace as the batter went for the cross-batted shot over the mid-on region, but couldn’t get the timing right and hit it in the air towards the mid-on region.

DC loses track inside powerplay vs CSK

After Nissanka’s dismissal, his opening partner, KL Rahul, also went back to the pavilion. He tried to hoist Hosein’s first ball of the last over inside the power play for a six. But he didn’t get the timing as the ball ballooned in the air before finishing in the hands of the cover fielder.

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Delhi finished the power play with 37 runs for the loss of two wickets. It would be important for the batters to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard moving. Chennai won’t love to chase a score of more than 170 on this slow surface.

Brief Scores (at the time of writing): DC- 56/3 (Pathum Nissanka 19, Noor Ahmed 1/7) vs CSK. 

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