Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya made history in the IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals on Monday, and honestly, he did it in style. Arya’s always had a reputation for hitting big right from the start, and this time he smashed Mitchell Starc’s very first ball over the boundary for a six. What’s wild is, he’s done this before — last season, against Chennai Super Kings, he sent Khaleel Ahmed’s first ball flying for a six too.
Now, Arya stands alone as the only batter in IPL history to whack the first ball of a match for a six twice. Some big names like Naman Ojha, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have managed it once each, but Arya’s gone one step further. Actually, if you look closer, this was his third time launching the first ball of an IPL innings for six. Only Jaiswal’s done it more — four times.
Arya also racked up another milestone. He’s now the second Indian batter after 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to score a half-century inside the powerplay at least three times.
Still, Delhi Capitals grabbed the win. Thanks to half-centuries from captain Axar Patel and David Miller, DC clinched a thrilling three-wicket victory and kept their playoff hopes alive.
Punjab Kings batted first. Arya hit 56 off 33 balls, and Prabhsimran Singh chipped in with 18. Together, they knocked up 78 runs in just 41 balls for the opening partnership. After they were gone, Shreyas Iyer (who stayed unbeaten on 59 off 36) and Cooper Connolly (38 off 27) pushed PBKS to a strong total — 210 for five.
Delhi’s chase wasn’t smooth. They were struggling at 74 for four, but Axar and Miller turned things around, putting DC back in the game. Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari finished the job, and Delhi ended up scoring 216 for seven in just 19 overs.
Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets for DC, though he was expensive, giving away 57 runs. Madhav Tiwari also grabbed two scalps, conceding 40. For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh was tight with two wickets for only 21 runs, while Ben Dwarshuis and Marcus Stoinis each took one.
