Dharamsala, May 12 (IANS) Former India batter Abhinav Mukund believes Punjab Kings (PBKS) missed a tactical opportunity by not introducing Yuzvendra Chahal during the middle overs in their defeat to Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026.

Punjab Kings failed to defend 210 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Monday as Delhi Capitals scripted the highest successful IPL chase in Dharamsala history, winning by three wickets with six balls remaining.

One of the biggest talking points from the contest was Punjab’s decision not to bowl a single over of spin, despite having experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the side.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out Show, Mukund said Chahal ideally should have been used during the middle phase when Axar Patel and Tristan Stubbs were rebuilding the innings.

“You’ve got to bowl him in overs 7 to 15, 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 Stubbs were there,” Mukund said.

Mukund added that even if Chahal had been expensive initially, Punjab were in a strong enough position on the scoreboard to take that risk in search of wickets.

“But then again, I would’ve personally got out at least an over of Chahal to just see what was happening,” he said.

“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.”

Mukund felt the ideal window to test spin was between overs seven and ten before Delhi’s experienced finishers took complete control of the chase.

“So I would’ve done that between overs 7 to 10, and if it didn’t work, you had Stoinis as insurance,” he added.

Despite reducing DC to 38/3 inside five overs, PBKS could not halt the recovery led by Axar Patel (56) and David Miller (51). Debutant Madhav Tiwari later played a fearless cameo of 18 off eight balls to help Delhi complete the chase.

–IANS

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