PBKS, DC desperate for points in Dharamsala showdown

PBKS: 4th place, 6 wins, 3 losses, 1 NR, 13 points. Started 6-1, now lost 3 straight. Last loss: 33 runs to SRH after conceding 235 DC: 8th place, 4 wins, 7 losses, 8 points. Lost 5 of last 6, beaten by KKR by 8 wickets last game. “Almost out of tournament” When Punjab Kings (PBKS) suffered their first defeat of IPL 2026, in their eighth match of the season, head coach Ricky Ponting lifted the mood in the dressing room by saying they were still at the top of the points table. Their captain Shreyas Iyer repeated the line after another loss in the following match. But PBKS have now lost three in a row and are no longer top of the table. PBKS: Win puts them back in top-2 race. Loss = 4th straight defeat, “top-two ambitions will begin crumbling” DC: Do-or-die. Even winning all remaining games gets them to 14 points, which “may not guarantee playoff berth”. Captain Axar Patel already talking about “next year” Their defeats do not seem to have a pattern, though. Against Rajasthan Royals, they failed to defend 222. Batting first against Gujarat Titans, they made only 163 for 9. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, they failed to chase down 236. Their fielding, however, has been substandard in those performances. PBKS have dropped 16 catches, with Shashank Singh alone shelling five. Only Chennai Super Kings (17) have fared worse. Bowling exposed: Arshdeep Singh + Marco Jansen leaking runs at death. Top-order blip: Priyansh Arya + Prabhsimran Singh, who had 7-game unbeaten run, now “experiencing a blip”. Fielding: Dropped catches cost them vs SRH. Their start to the season was so strong, though, that they will reclaim the top spot if they beat Delhi Capitals (DC) on Monday in Dharamsala, their second home. A fourth consecutive defeat, however, could jeopardise their chances of finishing in the top two. Batting collapse: Struggled on slow tracks, 142-8 vs KKR. Only Pathum Nissanka 50 looked comfortable. Bowling: Kuldeep Yadav “unusually quiet season”Morale: “Directionless trajectory”, “trying to rediscover themselves when tournament has moved on. If Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Mumbai Indians on Sunday night, DC will be eliminated if they lose to PBKS. Earlier in the season, when the two sides met in Delhi, PBKS pulled off the highest successful chase in T20 cricket, chasing down 265 with seven balls to spare. Can DC lift themselves up and make it 1-1 for the season? Bottom line: Two northern teams, both out of form, meet in the hills. PBKS trying to halt a 3-match slide and stay in top-2 hunt. DC fighting to keep “mathematical” playoff hopes alive after losing 5 of 6. Dharamsala’s altitude and dew likely mean runs, and toss could be huge. Since the start of 2023, teams batting first have won four of the five IPL games played in Dharamsala. So bowling first may not be as straightforward a choice after winning the toss. There is a chance of scattered showers during the day but it should not threaten the game. The temperature will be around 14°C in the evening.