It hardly ever happens, but it happened on Monday night. Yuzvendra Chahal – the IPL’s leading wicket-taker – watched all 39 overs from the outfield and never let go of the ball. Punjab Kings ended up losing to Delhi Capitals after having them 33 for 3 in the powerplay while chasing 211. A strange game, and naturally there are a few “what-ifs” doing the rounds.
First, the basics. The surface in Dharamsala offered more for the seamers than anyone expected, so Shreyas Iyer stuck with pace throughout. That explained most of it. Still, former India opener Abhinav Mukund wondered if the match-ups also nudged the captain towards caution once David Miller and Axar Patel settled in.
“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.”
Delhi needed 38 from the last three overs. Punjab went to Marcus Stoinis and Yash Thakur – the latter on the park for his first match of the season – for the 18th and 19th. Both overs disappeared, leaving a routine finish for Stubbs in the 20th. “It’s an interesting call,” Abhinav added, “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].”
The other talking point was Miller’s return to form. His unbeaten half-century – the South African’s first of the season after a couple of matches on the bench – swung the game. Former New Zealand quick Mitchell McClenaghan felt Chahal, even for one exploratory over, might have tested him early. “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.”
Punjab started IPL 2026 with seven straight wins; they have now dropped four on the trot. The table is still forgiving – three matches remain, two of them against Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants, who are stuck at the bottom. But leaving one of the tournament’s proven trump cards unused is bound to raise eyebrows, whatever the surface or the match-ups suggest.
Chahal won’t be short of motivation next time he has ball in hand.
