KL Rahul, who scored a fifty on his birthday earlier this month, was on 12 when Shashank Singh put him down. He scored 140 more runs.
That one dropped catch explains everything else about IPL 2026’s most absurd match on Saturday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Yes, Rahul’s 152* off 67 balls is now the highest score by an Indian in IPL history — surpassing Abhishek Sharma’s record from three days earlier. Yes, Punjab Kings just chased 265 to set the highest successful T20 chase in cricket history. Yes, 529 runs were scored in 38.5 overs. Every record this match broke came with an asterisk attached to a dropped ball.
The Drop That Built 264
Shashank Singh shelled a regulation chance off Arshdeep Singh’s bowling. Rahul, then 12, went on to a 47-ball hundred — his sixth in the IPL, his first for a third different franchise. His 220-run stand with Nitish Rana (91) became the second-highest partnership in IPL history, breaking the Kohli–de Villiers partnership record that had stood for eleven years.
Punjab Kings were so spooked by Shashank’s hands they pulled him off the field mid-innings. He had also dropped three catches in their previous game. The team currently top of the table is hiding a player from the field.
The Drops That Built 265
Then came Karun Nair’s turn. Nair put down Shreyas Iyer twice — once in the 16th over with the chase still alive. Iyer finished 71* off 36 and Punjab were home with seven balls to spare, after Prabhsimran Singh had blitzed 76 off 26 in the powerplay. DC pacer Lungi Ngidi was stretchered off in an ambulance after a head injury attempting an earlier catch. Captain Axar Patel publicly lambasted his fielders after the loss.
PBKS remain unbeaten. They might also be the luckiest team in IPL history. KL Rahul played one of the great IPL innings ever — and lost. The records are real. So is the asterisk.