Punjab Kings pulled off a record chase of 265 against Delhi Capitals, yet the defining moment for Shashank Singh and captain Shreyas Iyer didn’t come with fireworks in the middle. The response felt oddly restrained for what was, in effect, the highest successful chase in T20 cricket—completed with more than an over to spare.
Perhaps that subdued reaction was simply the after-effect of processing an extraordinary feat. Or maybe it reflected how deeply this PBKS batting approach has become part of their routine: when they chase, they don’t just aim to compete—they set out to dominate.
For much of the evening, the contest looked like a batting clinic rather than a chase. KL Rahul made 152 not out, the top individual score by an Indian in IPL history, carrying Capitals to 264. It was the kind of innings that seemed less built to be chased and more built to be admired.
Still, the opposition wasn’t an ordinary one. PBKS have remained unbeaten this season so far, and their recent record has already shown how dangerous they can be when they decide a target is attainable. In 2024, they chased down 262—the second-highest successful chase in IPL history. Earlier this season, they overhauled 196 against the Mumbai Indians with 21 balls remaining. You could almost sense Shreyas in the dugout delivering a familiar warning, the type that suggests the chase is already slipping away from the other side before it even begins.
At the presentation, Shreyas explained the mindset behind the chase. “I’m running out of words, honestly speaking, because first of all, it was scorching hot to come out there and field and keep seeing bowlers getting hit for fours and sixes,” he said. “You kind of lose your mindset. You don’t know what to do in such situation, but I know how the wicket was. We were actually presuming that the wicket would be turning, but it wasn’t much turn to offer. In my mind, I was just saying that whatever they get from here on, I think we just have to score one more run and see to it that we become victorious.”
PBKS didn’t treat the target like a mountain. They carried forward the same style they had used in their earlier matches—against Lucknow Super Giants, before that versus Mumbai Indians, and more or less across the season. The formula was consistent: let the openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh, attack from ball one, using their power-hitting to lay the foundation for the rest of the batting order.
That approach aligns with what T20 history often shows in the biggest chases: teams succeed when they win the powerplay and force the game open early. PBKS have done it repeatedly in recent seasons—such as making 93 in the opening period of their chase of 262 against KKR. Earlier, South Africa posted 102 in their chase of 259 against West Indies in 2023, and Sunrisers Hyderabad blasted 83 in their chase of 246 against PBKS in 2025.
Shreyas made the same point after the game. “We have chased around 220s, 225 and with two overs left, so the mindset was very much similar,” he said. “Get as many runs as possible in the powerplay.”
How PBKS made 265 look chaseable
- PBKS began exactly as planned, after a tough afternoon session spent fielding under Delhi’s peak summer conditions.
- Priyansh Arya took charge immediately, swinging cleanly from the first delivery to send the ball sailing over midwicket off Auqib Nabi.
- Mukesh Kumar kept missing his line and lengths, and Prabhsimran along with Arya punished him for it, with Axar Patel also becoming a target soon after he was introduced early.
- Nabi’s next over unravelled quickly, with a burst of hitting that made it clear the match was slipping away from DC.
- Prabhsimran then attacked anything that strayed off target, reaching a fifty off just 18 balls with a sharp drive through cover off a low full toss from Mukesh.
- Prabhsimran finished the powerplay with a six-boundary sequence, taking the total to 116 in the first six overs—reported as the second-highest powerplay total in IPL history.
- PBKS carried that dominance through the rest of the innings, with the openers’ momentum putting the required run rate into a range that never truly dictated terms for DC.
Prabhsimran’s power against pace was already known, but in this chase he looked especially relentless, striking at 328.57 against the fast bowlers on the day. Even the planning behind it sounded simple: Arya suggested that if they could reach around 80 in the first six overs, they would have a comfortable platform to push further. “We were discussing that if we could score 80 in six overs, then we can easily score 100 runs if we use our brains,” Arya told the broadcasters. “The pitch was very good and I had a belief that we will chase [this down]. Earlier I thought they would make 240 which will be chaseable, but it was 265, so I thought that if we do well in the powerplay, then we can easily chase.”
Once the fielders spread out and the chase moved beyond the initial burst, the mathematics had already shifted. DC’s win probability was 85.17% before PBKS began their chase, but it swung decisively to PBKS at 65.35% after the powerplay—clear evidence that the openers had taken control early enough to change the entire game narrative.
PBKS didn’t experience any prolonged dip in tempo. The only moment where the chase briefly became more human came when they lost three wickets—including the openers—for just 19 runs in the middle. Yet with Shreyas still in the middle, panic never surfaced in the way it often does during chases of this size. His composure through brutal weather appeared to calm everything around him.
As the required run rate hovered close to 11 for most of the innings, Shreyas batted as though the target was firmly within reach. Against Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav—who had taken two wickets by then—he played carefully enough to prevent dot balls from turning into pressure, while still ensuring the scoreboard kept moving.
Then came the crucial swing in momentum. Dropped on 28, Shreyas took full advantage of that extra life, countering Kuldeep with a rapid burst: three sixes and a four in that over, including one six that brought up his fifty off just 26 deliveries. The 23 runs he scored in that spell pushed the required rate below 10, and after that, the chase began to look like completion rather than contest—finally ending with PBKS finishing the job with an over to spare.
Speaking about the conversation inside the group, Arya said, “Ricky [Ponting] sir said that if we play our best game, then we can easily chase. And he said we were the best team till now in the IPL so, if we played our best game, we can easily chase. He asked us to have self-belief.”
DC did have moments where they could have tightened the grip, but the bigger story was PBKS’ refusal to treat any total as untouchable. That may explain the muted celebration at the end. In most T20s, a chase like this stretches the imagination. For PBKS, it simply looked like another day—another proof that their chase plan, especially in the powerplay, is no longer a surprise but a weapon.
