Apart from some classy tons, Saturday also saw a scary injury to Delhi Capitals pacer Lungi Ngidi. The South African had to be stretchered off the field and hospitalised after a fall while attempting a catch. In the third over of Punjab Kings’ innings, bowled by Axar Patel, Ngidi went for a catch off a lofted shot from Priyansh Arya. He tracked the ball while backpedalling but never seemed in control of the attempt, stretching backwards without getting a fingertip to it. In the process, he landed heavily on his head, making for a worrying moment on the field and causing play to be stalled for over 10 minutes, with spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam brought in as a concussion substitute.
Interestingly, most thought Dushmantha Chameera would come in as a like-for-like concussion substitute. Former IPL player Aakash Chopra explained that this was due to a rule limiting the number of overseas players in the XI. For example, if four overseas players are named in the XI, even if one is concussion-substituted, another overseas player cannot take his place. It has to be an Indian.
When Ngidi got injured, why couldn’t DC replace him with Chameera, a like-for-like replacement? Why did they have to go with Vipraj Nigam?
Let’s break down the playing conditions to understand this decision better. #AakashVani #IPL2026 pic.twitter.com/5ocDgro8Hl
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 25, 2026
Later, Lungi Ngidi was discharged from a Delhi hospital. The Proteas pacer had suffered a nasty landing on the back of his head and neck and was discharged from BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital.
Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Chairman and co-owner of the Delhi Capitals, went to the hospital to meet Ngidi.
Despite KL Rahul‘s record-breaking 152*, a sensational 126-run stand between openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, and a hard-hitting 71* by skipper Shreyas Iyer powered PBKS to an all-time record chase of 265 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It was a horror show with the ball for DC, who sorely missed Ngidi.
Following his injury, the IPL issued an update saying that Ngidi was “stable and due to be discharged from the hospital today”, and indeed, Ngidi was discharged just hours after suffering the blow.
Speaking on Ngidi’s injury, Venugopal said during the post-match press conference, “Still, I think it is not serious. We will update, but nothing serious.”
Ngidi has been a key bowler for DC this season, taking seven wickets in seven matches at an average of 29.42, with an economy rate of 8.70 and best figures of 3/27.
Venugopal also stressed the importance of overcoming poor catching, pointing out that the team dropped “almost six catches”, including two chances of skipper Shreyas Iyer by Karun Nair. He highlighted the need to hold on to such chances to have any hope of defending totals.
“See, when you are dropping catches at crucial times, I do not think we will win these kinds of matches. Chances to players like Prabhsimran, Priyansh Arya and Shreyas – we need to take those. If we drop catches, we cannot defend,” he added.
Speaking on recovering from the loss, Venugopal said, “We will see. When we come back for the next game, we will answer. There are a lot of positives, but the areas to improve are powerplay bowling and catching.”
Lastly, on KL Rahul’s record-breaking 152*, which made him the third overall and first-ever Indian member of the IPL’s 150-run club, as well as the holder of the highest score by an Indian in T20s, Venugopal pointed to the responsibility Rahul took as a senior player.
“See, after scoring and setting a target of 264, still we could not defend. First of all, credit goes to KL – the way he handled it. Nobody knows how the pitch behaved, but he kept striking the ball well. The way he played till the last over, hats off. He continued his form. In this format, you cannot relax. He took responsibility as a senior player, and you saw the difference this year in what he can bring. I am happy for him. We could not get the win, but we will come back strong next match,” he signed off.
With this win, PBKS remain unbeaten, with six wins and one no result, giving them 13 points. DC are placed sixth, with three wins and four losses, giving them six points. PBKS also broke their previous record of chasing down 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2024 season.
Coming to the match, after DC opted to bat first, an entertaining 220-run second-wicket stand between KL Rahul (152* off 67 balls, with 16 fours and nine sixes) and Nitish Rana (91* off 44 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes) powered DC to 264/2.
PBKS did not put their weapons down either. Priyansh Arya (43 off 17 balls, with two fours and five sixes) and Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26 balls, with nine fours and five sixes) shaved off 116 runs in the powerplay. Later, Shreyas Iyer (71* off 36 balls, with three fours and seven sixes) put together key partnerships with Nehal Wadhera (25) and Shashank Singh (19*), completing the chase in 18.5 overs with six wickets in hand.
Featured Video Of The Day
IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss
Topics mentioned in this article