{"id":9197,"date":"2026-05-12T02:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T02:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/chahals-rare-off-night-as-punjab-chase-delhi-with-pace-only-plan"},"modified":"2026-05-12T02:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T02:59:34","slug":"chahals-rare-off-night-as-punjab-chase-delhi-with-pace-only-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/chahals-rare-off-night-as-punjab-chase-delhi-with-pace-only-plan","title":{"rendered":"Chahal\u2019s rare off-night as Punjab chase Delhi with pace-only plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yuzvendra Chahal had a night to forget as he failed to bowl a single delivery in an IPL match for only the fourth time in his 185-game career. In Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings, the unusual sight was even more striking: the entire 39-over innings was handled by pace bowlers, making it a rare bowling blueprint at this level.<\/p>\n

What went wrong for Punjab Kings<\/h2>\n

Punjab Kings left Dharamsala with a surprising defeat, especially after looking in control during the chase of 211. The game swung into a worrying direction for PBKS when DC were 33 for 3 inside the powerplay, leaving plenty of openings to exploit. One major talking point after the result was that Shreyas Iyer\u2014the leading wicket-taker in IPL history\u2014was not targeted at all by PBKS in their bowling plans.<\/p>\n

There were multiple reasons behind that call. The primary factor, as the match conditions suggested, was that Dharamsala offered support to seamers on Monday, making it easier for PBKS to lean into pace. A secondary explanation offered by former India opener Abhinav Mukund was that David Miller and Axar Patel may have been batting through the middle overs of the chase, reducing the captain\u2019s temptation to introduce Chahal at the wrong moment.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to bowl him in [overs] 7 to 15,” Abhinav said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out Show. “And in conditions like this, when you’ve got Miller and Axar going, it’s very difficult for a captain to hand him the ball. If he had to do that, he had to do it in the seventh over when Axar and [Tristan] Stubbs were there. But then again, I would’ve personally got out at least an over of Chahal to just see what was happening. To just see because when you had the scoreboard pressure and you had the luxury of giving away even 18 or 20 [runs], if need be, at that point, but try and take the gamble to pick up a wicket. So I would’ve done that between overs 7 to 10 and if it didn’t work, you had Stoinis as insurance.”<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. PBKS decided to keep Chahal out of the equation during the middle portion of the chase.<\/li>\n
  2. Instead, they backed Marcus Stoinis and Yash Thakur, with Thakur making his first appearance of the season.<\/li>\n
  3. Those two were entrusted with the 18th and 19th overs when PBKS needed 38 runs to get over the line.<\/li>\n
  4. DC punished that phase strongly and struck through those overs, turning the chase into a DC win.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Abhinav also questioned the logic of the approach, stating, “It’s an interesting call because [PBKS] don’t use him in the powerplay. Rajasthan [Royals], we’ve seen Yuzi bowl in the death but now the league’s become very difficult for a spinner to bowl in the death unless you’re Krunal Pandya [who uses pace-on bouncers and low-arm slingers].”<\/p>\n

    Miller\u2019s impact and the Chahal debate<\/h2>\n

    Miller was central to DC\u2019s success, reaching his first half-century of the IPL after missing a few matches earlier in the season. Mitchell McClenaghan\u2014who has played for Mumbai Indians and also represented New Zealand as a fast bowler\u2014suggested DC could have made a case for using Chahal earlier to test Miller\u2019s early-innings temperament against spin.<\/p>\n

    “Quite early in his innings often he would be a little circumspect against spin. Particularly doesn’t pick wristspin exceptionally well, early in his innings. So there was an opportunity to, even if he bowled one over when David Miller comes to the crease, and see if he can turn one back [to hit the stumps] because he usually plays for the googly early.”<\/p>\n

    Punjab\u2019s playoff position after the setback<\/h2>\n

    Punjab Kings had started IPL 2026 with seven straight matches without a loss, but this defeat has extended their slide to four consecutive losses. Even with the recent downturn, they remain in the playoff mix with three matches still to play. Two of those remaining fixtures are against MI and Lucknow Super Giants, with the latter currently rooted at the bottom of the table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Yuzvendra Chahal had a night to forget as he failed to bowl a single delivery in an IPL match for only the fourth time in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Chahal Rare Off-Night as Punjab Use Pace in IPL","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Chahal\u2019s rare off-night as Punjab\u2019s pace-only plan works\u2014Delhi Capitals chase 211 in IPL, and the unusual 39-over bowling blueprint turns heads.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\nChahal Rare Off-Night as Punjab Use Pace in IPL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chahal\u2019s rare off-night as Punjab\u2019s pace-only plan works\u2014Delhi Capitals chase 211 in IPL, and the unusual 39-over bowling blueprint turns heads.\" \/>\n<meta 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