Delhi Capitals (DC) take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 35 at Arun Jaitley Stadium this Saturday afternoon, and in this DC vs PBKS today match prediction, both sides come in with plenty at stake but heading in very different directions this season. Check below for free betting insights, expert analysis, pitch report, weather report, and how the toss plays a crucial role in this afternoon fixture as we back Punjab Kings to get the job done on the back of their consistency, superior stats, and a batting line-up that has simply been too good for every team they have faced in IPL 2026.
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
The Delhi Capitals (DC) 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. Pathum Nissanka and David Miller add depth below them. On most evenings Delhi can put runs on the board, and enough of them too.
The bowling is a different conversation altogether. Ngidi’s seven wickets look decent until you see he is going at 8.70 an over. Axar Patel is the one bowler holding any real shape, six wickets at 7.94. After that it gets rough. Kuldeep and Mukesh Kumar both bleeding at 10.00 an over across six games is not a coincidence, and Natarajan averaging 49.25 with four wickets has not helped either. Batters have figured this attack out and are targeting it, which explains a lot about those three defeats.
Axar captains the side, bowls, bats, and somehow keeps showing up. But he cannot do everything. Delhi have enough talent to turn this season around and Saturday at home is the right moment to start. The batting will show up. Whether the bowling does is the only thing worth watching.
Punjab Kings Preview and Performance
The Punjab Kings (PBKS) 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. 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 line-up. Bowling attacks have had no answers for it all season.
The bowling costs them runs at times. Arshdeep and Vyshak lead with six wickets each, Marco Jansen has been the most controlled at 8.50 an over with five wickets, and Chahal has four in the mix. Bartlett leaking at 10.52 is the one soft spot, but when your batting is consistently putting massive totals on the board, the bowlers do not need to be perfect.
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 SharmaPunjab 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 man Delhi need to bat long. 205 runs and the kind of game awareness to build an innings when it matters. How long he bats on Saturday will likely shape DC’s total.
- Sameer Rizvi (DC) has been a genuine breakout this season. 209 runs averaging 41.80 in the middle order. He hits boundaries at will and could be the difference if DC need a late push.
- Kuldeep Yadav (DC) is the one bowler who could genuinely trouble the PBKS top order. The dry no-dew afternoon conditions in Delhi should suit him, and with five wickets this season he comes into this game with form and confidence behind him.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
- Priyansh Arya (PBKS) has been the most destructive batter in the tournament this season. 211 runs at a strike rate of 248.23, including a 93 off 37 balls against LSG. If he gets going in the powerplay, Delhi will be chasing a very big number very early.
- Shreyas Iyer (PBKS) is the anchor holding the PBKS batting together. 208 runs, three fifties, averaging 52.00. He does not throw it away and that consistency at number four has won Punjab Kings more than one close game this season.
- Cooper Connolly (PBKS) leads the PBKS run charts quietly with 223 runs. He does not get the headlines Arya does but he has been just as important to how Punjab bat as a unit.
- Arshdeep Singh (PBKS) will fancy the dry afternoon conditions at Arun Jaitley. His 3 for 22 against MI showed exactly what he is capable of when the pitch offers him something. DC openers will need to be sharp against him early.
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 as low as 12 percent the conditions will be draining throughout. Rain is not part of the conversation, 10 percent chance across the entire match window means this one will almost certainly go the full distance. Toss could matter here. Nobody wants to be fielding at 3:30 in that heat if they can help it.
Also Read: RCB vs GT Today Match Prediction IPL 2026 Match 34
DC vs PBKS Match 35 Pitch Report — Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Arun Jaitley has been a batter’s ground all season and Saturday should be no different. The black soil surface is flat, the bounce is consistent, and with boundaries sitting between 61 and 68 metres even the mistimed ones are finding the stands. Wrist spinners like Kuldeep and Chahal should get more out of it as the afternoon heat dries the surface out, but both captains will likely bowl first given that chasing sides have won 55 percent of recent games here and the pitch only gets better to bat on as the evening cools down.
DC vs PBKS Toss Prediction — Match 35, IPL 2026
Our IPL toss prediction, the heatwave actually flips the usual script at Arun Jaitley. Chasing is normally the preferred call here, but with temperatures hitting 41°C at the 3:30 PM start and Loo conditions likely through the afternoon, neither captain will want their batters walking out in that heat after spending the first innings fielding in it. We are backing Punjab Kings to win the toss and elect to bat first, get their runs on the board early, and let the conditions do the talking for their bowlers in the second innings. If Delhi win it instead, expect Axar to make the same call for the same reasons.
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 this 35th match IPL 2026.
Looking for more betting tips for IPL 2026? Check our IPL Betting Tips
DC vs PBKS Today Match Prediction — Who Will Win Match 35, IPL 2026?
For this IPL today match prediction, everything points toward Punjab Kings. Five wins from six games, a batting lineup that has dismantled every attack they have faced this season, and a bowling unit that will fancy the dry afternoon conditions at Arun Jaitley. Delhi have the talent but three losses in their last four games tells you this is a side still searching for consistency, and facing the tournament’s form team at this moment in their campaign is a tough ask. Punjab Kings to win Match 35 and keep that unbeaten run going.
Prediction: PBKS to win Match 35, IPL 2026.
