Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals (216 for 7 wickets in 19 overs) beat Punjab Kings (210 for 5 wickets in 20 overs) by 3 wickets in Dharamshala on Monday. Achievement: | highlight

Between Priyansh Arya hitting a volley of sixes and Delhi Capitals collapsing again inside the powerplay, this match was starting to look like another one of those IPL Nights in 2026 where DC will quietly disappear from the playoff race.

Instead, Dharamshala gave him his biggest opportunity yet.

Delhi Capitals achieved the highest chase in the history of HPCA Stadium by scoring 211 runs in just 19 overs against Punjab Kings, thanks mainly to two players who have spent most of this season dealing with criticism rather than applause: Axar Patel and David Miller.

Hospice conditions almost guarantee insanity. At that height, mishits can also disappear into the stands and bowlers rarely feel completely in control once the ball starts flying.

Punjab soon understood this.

Priyansh Arya came swinging from the very first over, dismissed Mitchell Starc for 22 runs and completely decided the direction of Punjab’s innings. The young opener scored 56 runs in just 33 balls with the help of six sixes as Delhi pacers struggled badly whenever they pitched the ball up during the powerplay.

At 72/0 after six overs, Punjab looked set to sail past 220.

Delhi gradually pulled themselves back into the contest after changing their lengths and attacking the surface more strongly. Auqib Nabi played a major role in that innings, cleverly using hard lengths to disrupt Punjab’s momentum after an explosive start.

Debutant Madhav Tiwary then added another big moment by dismissing Priyansh and taking his first IPL wicket, while Delhi bowlers managed to prevent Punjab from completely running away from the innings in the middle overs.

Nevertheless, 210 still looked like a big target when Delhi’s chase began in familiar fashion.

Abhishek Porel, KL Rahul and Sahil Parakh were back in the pavilion inside the first six overs as DC faltered at 47/3, miles behind Punjab’s own powerplay start.

Then Akshar finally played the inning for which Delhi was eagerly waiting for the whole season.

Akshar Patel finally plays like a captain

This season, perhaps no Delhi Capitals player has been under more pressure than Akshar.

The burden of captaincy clearly affected his batting rhythm for most of IPL 2026 and Delhi often found themselves looking for contributions from someone who usually naturally provides balance.

Before this match, Axar had scored only 44 runs from 59 balls at a strike rate of 74.57 in the entire season, which did not reflect the role Delhi expected from him in the middle order.

However, against Punjab Akshar finally looked independent again.

He struck back exactly when DC needed it most and stitched a game-changing partnership with Miller that completely transformed the chase. The pair added 64 runs off just 34 balls and turned another collapsing innings into a real target again.

More importantly, Axar finally played with the same intent that Delhi had sorely missed this season.

He attacked the length early on rather than getting trapped in the middle overs, which had repeatedly hurt DC in previous matches. Be it taking the seamers through the line or using the sweep against spin, Axar never allowed Punjab to fully settle after the early wickets.

His innings of 56 off 30 balls came at a strike rate of 186.67 and completely changed the energy of the chase.

Even though his innings eventually ended with Marcus Stoinis taking the big wicket, by then the momentum had already shifted as Miller had just started to open up.

You can’t keep David Miller quiet for long

For a player who has been dropped in Delhi’s last two matches, David Miller chose the night to remind everyone why he still remains one of the most dangerous T20 finishers.

And after Akshar left, Miller wasted no time.

Marco Jansen’s 16th over became the point where the chase suddenly went out of Punjab’s control. Miller scored 15 runs in the over and hit two consecutive sixes on Ben Dwarshuis in the next over.

The innings lasted only 28 balls, but Miller’s 51 completely changed the energy of the game and ensured that the required rate was never out of reach.

What happened after his dismissal became even more chaotic.

Punjab still had chances and Delhi still needed the finishing touch, but debutant Madhav Tiwary produced one of the most fearless cameos of the night. I’ve already impressed with the ball Having dismissed Priyansh Arya in the first match, Madhav now stitched a decisive partnership of 35 runs with Ashutosh Sharma in just 14 balls, bringing Delhi closer.

Then came the final collapse from Punjab’s side.

With two balls left in the 19th over, Yash Thakur bowled an expensive no-ball before hitting a four. Auqib Nabi hit a six on the last ball of the over, completing one of Delhi’s most dramatic wins of the season.

For Punjab Kings, this defeat now raises serious concerns at the business end of IPL 2026. Having once looked one of the most balanced teams in the tournament, they have now slipped to four consecutive defeats, with dropped catches, inconsistent bowling and tactical confusion suddenly becoming recurring problems.

Meanwhile, Delhi is still embroiled in the race for the playoffs. But after a season full of batting collapses and failed chases, Dharamshala finally gave them a night where their senior players stepped up exactly when the season most demanded it.

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India women’s national under-17 football team’s historic FIFA World Cup dream ended on Monday after a 0-3 defeat against hosts China women’s national under-17 football team in the quarter-finals of the AFC Under-17 Women’s Asian Cup. India fought hard for large parts of the contest, but China’s quality and relentless pressure ultimately proved too much in a game which the hosts dominated from start to finish.

The Young Tigresses entered the quarter-finals knowing that a win would secure India’s first FIFA World Cup qualification on qualification. Instead, the defeat brought an end to a memorable campaign that had already seen India reached the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time.

However, for 38 minutes India managed to frustrate one of the strongest young teams in Asia.

Goalkeeper Basnet and defender Munni stood out during a disciplined defensive effort as China dominated possession and repeatedly pushed India into their own half.

But the breakthrough finally came in the 38th minute.

A sharp passing move from the left left India’s defense wide open, before Huang Qianyi finished from close range to give China the lead.

Things got even tougher for India in the stoppage time of the first half when China won a penalty and Liu Yuxi calmly converted it before the break to make it 2-0.

How did China dominate India in the quarterfinals?

The match statistics reflected China’s dominance throughout the contest.

The hosts enjoyed nearly 75 percent possession and finished the game with 28 shots, compared to India’s single effort.

China barely gave India a chance to play the ball and forced the Young Tigresses to constantly defend in their own final third.

Even after taking the lead, China continued to attack with intensity and never allowed India to stay in the game.

Ultimately, Li Qixian scored the third goal in the 90th minute to secure China’s place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, India struggled to create attacking opportunities as the hosts’ physicality, movement and pace continued to stretch the defense throughout the match.

India’s World Cup dream is over, but not the promise

Although the defeat ended India’s hopes of reaching the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, the campaign still marked a major step forward for the team.

India had already created history in the tournament by reaching the knockout stage of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup for the first time after an impressive 4-0 win over Lebanon.

This was the first time since 2004 that an Indian women’s team had reached the knockout stage of an AFC tournament.

Despite a tough quarterfinal against one of the strongest teams in Asia, players like Basnet and Munni showed a lot of potential during the tournament.

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Krunal Pandya (Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Krunal Pandya was struggling with cramps on the hard surface at Raipur, where stroke-making remained challenging during the thrilling IPL 2026 clash. Mumbai Indians In Raipur. Krunal gave a tense target to RCB by playing a struggling inning of 73 runs, while wickets kept falling at the other end. Battling cramp in the latter half of his innings, the left-hander combined resilience with calculated aggression to keep RCB alive, before Bhuvneshwar Kumar completed the tense target with a six in the final over.His innings was appreciated by many fans, cricketers and even former cricketers.