Dharamsala, May 12 (IANS) Punjab Kings spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule admitted his side failed to execute properly in the final overs and paid the price for dropped catches as Delhi Capitals pulled off a record chase to stay alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race.

Capitals chased down 211 with three wickets in hand against PBKS at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Monday. Despite reducing DC to 14/2 and later 38/3, PBKS were unable to close out the match as captain Axar Patel smashed 56, David Miller struck 51, and debutant Madhav Tiwari played a decisive cameo of 18 off eight balls to guide the visitors to 216/7.

Reflecting on the defeat, Bahutule admitted that his side had the game under control before losing momentum in the death overs, “I’ve said this before, also, there are going to be lots of ups and downs. There are going to be times where you’ve almost won the game, and you lose, we almost had the game with us, but we didn’t execute the skills needed in the last five overs. So all we need to do is just keep this aside and move ahead and play the next three games to the best of our ability,” Bahutule said at the post-match press conference.

PBKS’ fielding lapses also proved costly during DC’s recovery. Arshdeep Singh dropped Tristan Stubbs at long-on, while another chance offered by Axar Patel went down at deep square leg.

Bahutule admitted those missed opportunities hurt the team badly. “If we had caught two catches, I don’t think they would have maybe reached the target, but it would have been very difficult for them and maybe won the game by 20 runs,” he said.

The contest also marked the first time in IPL history that neither team used a spinner during an innings, with both captains relying entirely on pace on a seaming Dharamsala surface.

Explaining the reason behind the move, Bahutule said that the surface consistently favoured fast bowling throughout the innings, and it was wise to use the pacers.

“Definitely there was a thought during the time-out, but I think the ball was seaming and the conditions were suitable for the fast bowlers. So I think the decision was very spontaneous to continue with the fast bowlers and see how we can get those wickets, which we did early on,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Kings have lost four consecutive matches and will need to win at least two of their last three matches to secure a place in the playoffs. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will next face the Mumbai Indians on May 14.

–IANS

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