Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals: DC bowls first in Dharamsala
Punjab Kings face Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 at Dharamsala as DC win toss, opt to bowl first. Ben Dwarshuis makes debut for PBKS.
Delhi Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first in their IPL clash against Punjab Kings at Dharamsala. Mitchell Starc opened the bowling for DC with Priyansh Arya launching the innings with a six.
Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, IPL 2026, Dharamsala, Mitchell Starc, Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, Ben Dwarshuis
The Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals are set for a fresh contest in the Indian Premier League at Dharamsala, where temperatures are expected to dip as low as 13 degrees Celsius on the evening of 11 May 2026.
Mitchell Starc got the new ball rolling for Delhi Capitals, and Priyansh Arya responded with aplomb — he drove a full delivery from outside off stump and cleared the deep cover fence for a six off the very first ball he faced.
Delhi Capitals won the toss, with Axar Patel calling it correctly. The captain led his side out to the centre and opted to bowl first, stating that Dharamsala usually offers a fresh wicket that can swing with the new ball for fast bowlers. Axar said they want to put the opposition in to bat first and assess how the surface behaves. He acknowledged that the toss is the only thing that has gone their way in recent games, but insisted the team has been playing good cricket regardless of results. He confirmed that five changes have been made to the playing XI — Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, David Miller, Auqib Nabi and Madhav Tiwari all coming in.
Punjab Kings have named their playing XI with Shreyas Iyer captaining from the middle order. Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya will open the batting. The side features Cooper Connolly, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal. Notably, Australia’s left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis makes his IPL debut for the Kings, replacing Lockie Ferguson who is dealing with a slight niggle. Arshdeep Singh handed him his maiden cap in the pre-match huddle.
Shreyas Iyer said it is difficult to judge how pitches are playing until teams actually bat on them. He stressed there is no need to think too much about the points table at this stage, with the focus on getting the small details right and backing instincts in pressure situations. He acknowledged that the side has fallen short in the last few matches in that regard but expressed confidence that ups and downs are part and parcel of the IPL.
Impact sub options for Punjab Kings include Harpreet Brar, Yash Thakur, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod and Praveen Dubey.
Delhi Capitals’ playing XI also lists impact sub options — Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Tripurana Vijay, Pathum Nissanka and Vipraj Nigam. Lungi Ngidi, who was asked about his injury scare, said he is fine now and all is good, admitting the incident served as a big reality check for him.
With a chilly evening ahead in Dharamsala, both teams are set to begin the match with the required intensity.
