Delhi Capitals - (Source: AFP)On Saturday, Delhi Capitals became the fourth team in IPL 2026 to crash out of the playoff race. Notably, Punjab Kings registered a comfortable 7-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants and that resulted in the Axar Patel-led side bowing out of the tournament.The development comes a day prior to Delhi Capitals' final league stage match against Kolkata Knight Riders on May 25, which is also last league stage match of IPL 2026. For Delhi Capitals to stay alive in the tournament, they required LSG to beat the Shreyas Iyer-led side.Talking about the recently concluded match, LSG, batting first, put 196/6 on the board. In reply, PBKS chased down the target with 12 balls in hand.How Did Delhi Capitals Crash Out Of IPL 2026 With PBKS' Win?Notably, DC are placed 8th on the table with 12 points in 13 matches. They anyway had bleak chances to qualify for the playoffs. For Capitals to qualify for the playoffs, they required LSG to beat PBKS, then MI to beat RR in Sunday's afternoon game and then the Axar Patel-led side beat KKR by a hefty margin.Before the PBKS-LSG match, Punjab were placed at 5th with 13 points. Now, DC could have reached just 14 points and now since PBKS have 15 points, its all over for the one-time IPL finalists.Delhi Capitals' IPL 2026 SeasonDelhi Capitals have had a pretty frustrating season in IPL 2026. The Axar Patel-led side started the tournament with 2 straight wins over LSG and Mumbai Indians. However, they dealt a shock when David Miller refused a single against Gujarat Titans and the Capitals suffered a 1 run defeat, which is now coming to haunt them.Also Read: After Chinnaswamy Disaster, Bengaluru Invests ₹943 Crore Into Another Stadium ProjectDC then lost a match against CSK and then registered a win over RCB to have 3 wins in five matches. However, things went downhill mid-season when the Axar Patel-led side suffered three straight defeats, including one where they failed to defend 264 against Punjab Kings.It was followed by two defeats and left them on the brink of elimination. It was courtesy of two wins in their last two matches that Delhi Capitals were still alive so far in the tournament.Delhi Capitals Go 5th Straight Year Without PlayoffsThe hunt for the first IPL trophy will have to wait for another year as Delhi Capitals have now gone five years without qualifying for the playoffs. The last time they finished in top-4 was back in 2021 when they finished top of the table with 20 points.If we look at Delhi Capitals' history then in 19 edition, the Axar Patel-led side have qualified just 6 times in the playoffs, which is quite shambolic for any franchise having played all seasons in IPL.Also Read: RCB Opener Officially Ruled Out Of IPL 2026; Flies Back To England
