- By Sports desk
- Sat, 25 Apr 2026 03:24 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Axar Patel won the toss and opted to bat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the match 35 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. During toss, DC captain Axar Patel addmitted that the pitch looks a bit dry and it's quite hot in Delhi to the hosts want to put a strong total. Notably, both DC and PBKS are featuring with the same playing XIs.
PBKS and DC performance in IPL 2026
The Shreyas Iyer-led PBKS are currently top in the points table tally, winning five out of six games, as their one clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was ended without result due to rain at Eden Gardens. The last edition's finalists have yet to lose a game in the 19th edition of the tournament.
On the other hand, Axar Patel-led DC are struggling as they are currently sixth on the tally. The Delhi-based franchise is coming after losing their last clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs.
Captains at the toss
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer: It's important to stay in the moment, that's how you want the environment to be. I personally feel you just have to keep training harder and keep getting better every now and then, better than the previous performance. And that's what I keep telling my teammates as well. We need to inculcate right habits in the dressing room and culture that we've been building so far. And it has been, touch wood, going great. We just have to keep enjoying the game and have fun along with each other. I would love to bowl. And thankfully, I had a small discussion with Axar before the toss. He said that he's going to bat, so I was happy that we are going to bowl and the toss was inconsequential. We are going with the same team.
DC captain Axar Patel: We will bat first. It looks a bit dry and obviously it’s a day game, and you know it’s quite hot as well. So we’re thinking of putting up a good total first and then trying to defend it. (Do you think it will get quite slow later on?) Yes, from the looks of it, it seems like it will slow down a bit later, and the bowlers might get some help as well. So we want to post a good total first and give the bowlers a chance to make use of any assistance from the wicket. We want to focus on ourselves. Every team we are playing is playing good cricket. We have also been playing good cricket, but the thing is that in crucial moments, I think we are not winning those moments in the game. We are making silly mistakes, and if we correct those, I think we will be back on track. If consistency comes in, and if we fix the small mistakes we are making in the field or in taking decisions at crucial times, then I think we will be on the winning side most of the time. We are playing the same team.
DC vs PBKS playing XIs
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact subs: Nehal Wadhera, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Vishnu Vinod
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Sameer Rizvi, Axar Patel(c), Nitish Rana, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan, Mukesh Kumar.
Impact Subs: Vipraj Nigam, Karun Nair, Dushmantha Chameera, Ashutosh Sharma, Auqib Nabi Dar