Delhi Capitals (DC) face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 35 of IPL 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium this Saturday, and our DC vs PBKS today match prediction strongly favours the table-toppers Punjab Kings. Two teams that started this season with completely different ambitions and have ended up in completely different situations. One is flying, the other is firefighting. Throw in a Delhi heatwave, a spin-friendly surface and a toss that could genuinely swing this game, and Saturday has all the ingredients of a proper IPL afternoon. Scroll down for full expert analysis, free betting tips, pitch report, weather conditions and how the toss shapes up for this crucial clash.
Today’s Match Winning Percentage
Series: Indian Premier League 2026
Teams: Delhi Capitals vs Punjab Kings
Date: 25 April 2026
Time: 3:30 PM LOCAL (IST), 10:00 AM GMT, 3:00 AM PT, 6:00 AM ET
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Broadcast: Star Sports 1 HD / Star Sports 3
Streaming: JioHotstar
Delhi Capitals Preview and Performance
Delhi Capitals came into IPL 2026 with a point to prove, and for a brief moment it looked like they were doing exactly that. Back to back wins to open the season, some good batting performances, and enough early signs to suggest this could be their year. Six games later, that feels like a long time ago.
Three losses in the last four matches has knocked the stuffing out of their campaign. The latest one, a 47-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, was not a game that got away from them in the final over. They were beaten pretty convincingly. Fifth on the table, three wins and three losses, net run rate sitting at -0.130. Not a dead rubber yet, but getting uncomfortable.
Home game against Punjab Kings on Saturday then. Good time for it.
The batting is not the issue. Sameer Rizvi has 209 runs this season at a strike rate of 150.35, two fifties, top score of 90. KL Rahul has 205 at 166.66 with a 92 already under his belt. Tristan Stubbs is averaging 65.33 in the middle order across six innings, which is a seriously good return in this format. Pathum Nissanka and David Miller add real depth below them. On most evenings Delhi can put runs on the board, and plenty of them too.
The bowling is a different conversation altogether. Ngidi’s seven wickets look decent until you clock he is going at 8.70 an over. Axar Patel is the one bowler holding any real shape, six wickets at 7.94, and honestly that is where the reliability ends. Kuldeep and Mukesh Kumar both bleeding at 10.00 an over across six games is not a one-off bad night, and Natarajan averaging 49.25 with four wickets has not helped matters either.
Batters have figured this attack out, they know where the runs are, and they have been taking them. That explains a lot about those three defeats. Axar captains the side, bowls, bats and somehow keeps showing up every game.
But he cannot paper over cracks this wide on his own. Delhi have enough talent in that squad to turn this season around and Saturday at home is as good a moment as any to start. The batting will show up. Whether the bowling does is the only real question worth asking.
Punjab Kings Preview and Performance
Nobody predicted this. Punjab Kings sitting top of the IPL 2026 table, five wins from six games, the only side yet to lose a match in the tournament. The one point they dropped came from rain against KKR, not from any opposition bowling attack. Shreyas Iyer has built something genuinely threatening here and right now, nobody in this competition looks like stopping them.
The batting is where it starts and honestly it has been something else this season. Priyansh Arya is hitting at a strike rate of 248.23. Read that again. He has 211 runs from five innings, twenty sixes, and a top score of 93. He does not so much bat as detonate. Cooper Connolly leads the run tally with 223 at 163.97, averaging 55.75 with two fifties. Quiet, consistent, and always there when it matters. Prabhsimran Singh adds another 211 at 171.54 from the top of the order. Then Shreyas Iyer walks in, 208 runs, three fifties, averaging 52.00. Four batters all averaging above 42 in the same lineup. Every bowling attack in this tournament has come up short against them and Delhi’s will be no different unless something changes drastically on Saturday.
The bowling costs them runs at times, no question. Arshdeep and Vyshak lead with six wickets each, Marco Jansen has been the most controlled of the lot at 8.50 an over with five wickets, and Chahal brings four wickets of variety with the wrist spin. Bartlett leaking at 10.52 is the one soft spot in the group, but when your batting is consistently putting big totals on the board the bowlers do not need to be perfect. They just need to be good enough.
Punjab Kings have been outstanding this season and look every bit a title contender. Heading into Delhi on Saturday they carry all of that momentum with them and will be strong favourites to beat DC on their own home ground and keep that unbeaten run firmly intact.
Today’s Playing XI Prediction — DC vs PBKS, Match 35, IPL 2026
Delhi Capitals (DC): Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul (WK), Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel (C), Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, T Natarajan, Lungi Ngidi.
Impact Player: Ashutosh Sharma
Punjab Kings (PBKS): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
Impact Player: Nehal Wadhera
Key Players to Watch — DC vs PBKS, Match 35, IPL 2026
Delhi Capitals (DC)
- KL Rahul (DC) is the batter Delhi simply cannot afford to lose cheaply on Saturday. 205 runs this season and the kind of game awareness that only comes with experience at this level. He reads a chase, he reads a build, and he knows when to shift gears. How long he stays at the crease will shape everything DC do with the bat and the whole innings tends to organise itself around him.
- Sameer Rizvi (DC) has been one of the genuine breakout stories of IPL 2026 and he is only getting more confident as the season goes on. 209 runs averaging 41.80 in the middle order, hitting boundaries at will and looking completely at home against quality bowling. Give him a solid platform and he can take a game away from any opposition in a very short space of time.
- Kuldeep Yadav (DC) could easily be the difference between DC winning and losing this match. The dry no-dew afternoon conditions at Arun Jaitley should bring his wrist spin right into the contest, and five wickets this season means he arrives with form behind him. If Delhi are going to pull off something here, a decisive Kuldeep spell in the middle overs is probably how it happens.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
- Priyansh Arya (PBKS) is the name every opposition captain has been losing sleep over this season and for good reason. 211 runs at a strike rate of 248.23, including a 93 off just 37 balls against LSG. He goes after the bowling from ball one, he does not ease himself in, and if DC’s bowlers give him anything loose in the powerplay the total could be out of sight before most of Delhi’s fans have found their seats.
- Shreyas Iyer (PBKS) is the anchor holding this entire Punjab Kings batting lineup together. 208 runs, three fifties, averaging 52.00 across five innings. He does not throw his wicket away chasing the big hit, he picks his moments, and that kind of maturity at number four is exactly why PBKS keep posting competitive totals even when the top order has a rare off day.
- Cooper Connolly (PBKS) quietly leads the PBKS run charts with 223 runs at 55.75 and gets nowhere near the credit he deserves. He does not play the flashy innings Arya does but he is always there, always contributing and opposition teams that go in without a proper plan for him tend to regret it.
- Arshdeep Singh (PBKS) will be quietly pleased about the conditions waiting for him on Saturday. His 3 for 22 against MI showed exactly what he can do when the surface and atmosphere give him something to work with, and dry afternoon Delhi in April is right up his alley. DC’s openers need to be switched on from the very first delivery because Arshdeep has the ability to end a chase before it properly begins.
DC vs PBKS Fantasy Cricket Tips — Match 35 IPL 2026
If you are building your fantasy XI for this one, Priyansh Arya and KL Rahul are the two names to build around given their form and the high-scoring nature of Arun Jaitley. Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav offer the best bowling value in what should be a spin and pace friendly afternoon. For captain and vice-captain picks, Shreyas Iyer and Sameer Rizvi are strong options given their consistency this season. For more detailed fantasy cricket tips, team suggestions and player analysis head over to our Fantasy Cricket page.
DC vs PBKS Weather Report Delhi | April 25
Saturday in Delhi is going to be brutal, there is no other word for it. The IMD has a yellow heatwave alert running through the 25th, temperatures are forecast to touch 41°C at the 3:30 PM start and that is before you factor in the Loo, those hot dry northwesterly winds that make an already punishing afternoon feel considerably worse. It will cool slightly through the evening, down to around 35°C by the back end of the second innings, but with humidity sitting as low as 12 percent the conditions will be genuinely draining for every player on the field. Rain is not part of the conversation at all, a 10 percent chance across the entire match window means this one goes the full distance without interruption. Toss will carry extra weight here because nobody wants to be fielding at 3:30 PM in 41-degree heat if they can help it.
DC vs PBKS Match 35 Pitch Report — Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Arun Jaitley has been a high-scoring ground all season and Saturday is unlikely to change that trend. The black soil surface is flat and offers consistent bounce, the kind that lets batters trust their shots and play freely without second-guessing the surface. Boundaries sitting between 61 and 68 metres mean even the mistimed ones have a habit of clearing the rope.
As the afternoon heat bakes the pitch further, wrist spinners Kuldeep and Chahal should find increasing grip and turn from the surface, which adds an interesting dimension to the middle overs. Both captains will probably still bowl first though, chasing sides have won 55 percent of recent games here and the pitch only gets easier to bat on as the evening cools down.
DC vs PBKS Toss Prediction — Match 35, IPL 2026
This IPL toss prediction comes with an interesting twist that the weather has created. Arun Jaitley normally favours chasing and both captains know that, but the severe heatwave forecast for the 3:30 PM start flips the usual thinking on its head. Neither side will be keen on fielding for 20 overs in 41-degree heat and then asking their batters to chase under lights on tired legs.
We are backing Punjab Kings to win the toss, put their batting unit out there first while conditions are at their most challenging for the bowlers, set a total and then let their attack operate in the relatively cooler evening. If Delhi happen to win it, Axar Patel will almost certainly arrive at exactly the same conclusion.
Toss Prediction: Toss winner will bat first. We back PBKS to win the toss.
Today’s Betting Insights — DC vs PBKS IPL 2026
- Who will win the toss today: PBKS to win the toss and elect to bat first
- Top Batter to Watch: Prabhsimran Singh
- Top Bowler to Watch: Arshdeep Singh
- Free Cricket Betting Tips: PBKS are favourites to win Match 35 IPL 2026
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DC vs PBKS Today Match Prediction — Who Will Win Match 35, IPL 2026?
Our DC vs PBKS today match prediction points clearly toward Punjab Kings and the case for them is hard to argue against. Five wins from six games, a batting lineup that has taken apart every bowling attack in this tournament so far, and conditions at Arun Jaitley on Saturday afternoon that should suit their pace bowlers in the second innings.
Delhi have enough batting firepower to compete on any given night but three losses in four games tells the real story of where this side is right now. They cannot trust their bowling unit and against Punjab Kings that is a very expensive weakness to carry. Punjab Kings to win Match 35 and stay right at the top of the IPL 2026 table.
Prediction: PBKS to win Match 35, IPL 2026.
DC vs PBKS Today Match Prediction
Scenario 1
- Toss Prediction: PBKS to win the toss and opt to bat first
- PBKS Scores: 195 to 205
- Who Will Win Today’s Match: PBKS to win Match 35, IPL 2026
Scenario 2
- Toss winner: DC wins the toss and opt to bat first
- DC Scores: 170 to 180
- Who will win: PBKS to win Match 35, IPL 2026
