In Match 66 of IPL 2025, the Delhi Capitals emerged victorious over the Punjab Kings by 6 wickets in a hard-fought contest at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Punjab Kings set an impressive 206/8, thanks to some classy batting by Shreyas Iyer, who scored 53 off 34 balls, and a late onslaught from Marcus Stoinis, who scored 44* off just 16 balls. The game changed dramatically in the last few overs, wherein almost 70 runs were scored, taking a competitive total and turning it into a mountain of runs on a good batting track.

Chasing 207, Delhi looked firmly in control of the required run rate with KL Rahul and Karun Nair doing the bulk of the run scoring, with Nair contributing 44 runs off 27 deliveries. The match changed decisively once Sameer Rizvi took control of the match, scoring an explosive 58* off just 25 balls, and completed the chase with 3 balls to spare. Rizvi showed maturity beyond his years, increasing the run rate expertly in the last few overs.

Punjab Kings had some victories, bringing down the wickets by Harpreet Brar and Praveen Dubey; however, the death bowling proved difficult under pressure. Delhi managed to cash in on a few bad deliveries, closing out the game. Delhi moved to now still be in contention for the playoffs and leave Punjab with an uphill battle to stay in the tournament!. Here are the Key reasons why PBKS lost to DC.

1. Poor Execution in Bowling Plans

Punjab Kings put a large bowl on the scoreboard at 206, but their execution failed while defending the target. Captain Shreyas Iyer said they needed to bowl to the plan and bowl hard lengths; instead, they bowled short, and that was on the wrong surface of the pitch, causing Delhi batters to settle and score effortlessly.

Also Read: IPL 2025, Match 66: Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals Full Match Highlights

2. Lack of Discipline Under Pressure

When Punjab reached the pressure stages of defense, the bowler's composure disappeared, and too many balls went to the boundary. One would think the pressure of defending a large target affected their decision-making and control on their accuracy. Punjab really never maintained pressure during the middle and death overs; at times the pressure of the occasion got to them, and this wasn't a good thing.

3. Inability to Contain Sameer Rizvi

Sameer Rizvi's 58* off just 25 balls was the match-winning innings, which was performed by Delhi. Punjab's bowlers have no plan to slow him down, nor did they manage to build him up and actually mount pressure on him. Really, Rizvi's aggressive stroke play highlighted how flimsy Punjab's death bowling options were, and ultimately this was sloppy cleansing hitting under pressure with no answers from Punjab.