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Delhi Capitals rode on blistering half-centuries from skipper Axar Patel and David Miller to mount a record chase and keep their qualification hopes alive following a stirring three-wicket victory over Punjab Kings on Monday.
A furious early onslaught by opener Priyansh Arya was the bedrock around which Punjab, coming off a hat-trick of losses, posted a commanding 210-5 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, where no total in excess of 200 had been chased down successfully previously.
Punjab seemed to have things under control when Arshdeep Singh and Yash Thakur reduced Delhi to 33 for three inside the first five overs.
Axar and Miller reignited their hopes with a 64-run stand for the fifth wicket, after which impact player Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari, playing his first game of the season, tore into the Punjab bowling to secure victory with six deliveries to spare.
Axar came into this game with just 44 runs from eight previous innings but found form when it mattered most, unleashing a flurry of boundaries that unsettled the pace-heavy Punjab attack.
With the ball becoming greasy, thanks to a damp outfield, the bowlers had trouble gripping it and Axar and Miller made merry, picking off fours and sixes at will to keep their team in the hunt.
Both fell not long after bringing up their respective fifties but Delhi weren’t done yet.
Ashutosh and Tiwari embarked on a six-hitting spree against the Australian duo of Ben Dwarshuis and Marcus Stoinis, and Auqib Nabi brought up a much-needed victory by slamming Thakur for a straight six.
Earlier, Punjab Kings got off to a quick start with Priyansh Arya, followed by a steady effort from Shreyas Iyer and a late burst from Suryansh Shedge, which helped them reach 210/5.
Arya set the pace from the very first ball, hitting Mitchell Starc over cover-point for six.
This marked just the second time Starc had been hit for a first-ball six in a T20 match. The last time it happened was in IPL 2026 against Yashasvi Jaiswal in Jaipur.
Starc’s opening over fell apart quickly as he gave up 22 runs, his highest ever in the first over of a T20 innings, exceeding his previous worst of 15 runs against DC in 2024 while playing for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Arya continued to attack without missing a beat. He targeted Azmatullah Nabi and welcomed Lungi Ngidi with back-to-back sixes, one pulled over midwicket and the other launched over extra cover.
This brought his total to five sixes in his first 13 balls. PBKS raced to 50 runs in just four overs when Arya sliced Ngidi over backward point for four off a slower ball.
Even when DC regained some control with the replacement ball moving, Arya reached a 24-ball fifty in the sixth over, which felt rather calm after his explosive start of 39 off 15 balls. PBKS ended the powerplay at 72/0.
DC finally made a breakthrough when Prabhsimran Singh, who struggled to find his rhythm despite a few fortunate boundaries, misplayed a delivery from Mukesh Kumar to deep backward square leg, where Nabi took a tumbling catch. Prabhsimran scored 18 off 15 balls.
Shreyas Iyer came in at No. 3, ahead of Cooper Connolly, likely to break up PBKS’ left-handers, and immediately faced challenging seam movement from Mukesh.
Arya’s impressive innings finally ended at 56 off 33 when IPL debutant Madhav Tiwari struck. After being fooled by a sharp bouncer, Arya responded with a boundary over extra cover.
However, he misplayed another short delivery soon after, leading to Sahil Parakh catching the ball at deep cover. PBKS were 107/2 after 10 overs.
Iyer ensured the innings maintained its pace. He quickly moved to 27 off 17 balls, including an impressive 73-metre straight six off Ngidi, even after being completely deceived by the slower ball, causing his bat to slip from his hand as the ball sailed over the ropes.
Connolly initially struggled but later exploded, hitting Starc for a towering 96-metre six over long-off and then taking on Ngidi with a four and a six in consecutive balls. PBKS reached 162/2 after 16 overs, setting the stage for a score well over 200.
Mukesh briefly slowed the run rate with a solid 17th over that yielded only six singles, but Tiwari’s final over went for 19 runs as Iyer struck two sixes and Connolly added a boundary before getting out to a slower bouncer.
Still, Tiwari ended with strong figures of 2/40 on his IPL debut.
Agencies
