Axar Patel finally comes good with the bat and David Miller provides momentum as Delhi stay alive by beating Punjab Kings

Madhav Tiwari of Delhi Capitals celebrates the wicket of Priyansh Arya of Punjab Kings during Match 55. (Photo by Deepak Malik / CREIMAS for IPL)

He continued to impress through the middle overs with hard lengths and slower balls that held slightly in the surface. But his bigger contribution was still to come.

Walking in during the 17th over with Delhi needing 41 runs, Tiwari showed composure far beyond his top-level experience. He stayed calm under pressure, using the pace of the bowlers cleverly rather than swinging wildly. Tiwari remained unbeaten on 18 off just eight balls and, alongwith Ashutosh Sharma, took DC home with an over to spare.

Captain’s knock

Axar Patel’s IPL 2026 as DC captain has hardly gone the way he would have imagined.

He watched his side fail to defend 264 runs against PBKS earlier in the tournament. He has also seen them collapse for 75 against RCB. By the time DC arrived in Dharamshala on Monday for the must-win clash, the skipper and his team knew there was no room for error.

That pressure only increased by the time he walked in with DC placed at 33/3 in the fifth over. For a few overs, he looked scratchy against the short ball and was beaten a couple of times outside off. But slowly, he began to settle into the chase.

The turning point came when he stepped down the track and smashed Marco Jansen straight back over his head for six. From there, Axar mixed aggression with smart placement. He picked up boundaries behind square, used the pace of the bowlers cleverly and targeted anything drifting onto his pads. Against Ben Dwarshuis, he lofted one cleanly over mid-off before adding another boundary fine down the legside.

His strongest phase came against Marcus Stoinis in the 14th over. Axar hit three consecutive fours to bring up his fifty off 29 balls. Just when Delhi seemed to be building momentum again, Axar fell trying to clear long-on off Stoinis. But his 56 off 30 balls kept Delhi alive in the chase.

Miller’s fireworks

David Miller’s primary role in IPL 2026 for DC has been that of a finisher, but his job on Monday was different as he walked in with his side 74/4 in the ninth over. The required rate was climbing quickly, wickets had fallen in a heap, and the chase needed someone to change the mood. For some time, Miller did exactly that.

The South African started carefully, getting used to the pace of the surface before opening up. A flicked boundary off Jansen got him going, and soon the confidence started showing in his strokeplay.

The moment that really lifted DC came against Stoinis. Miller stepped down the track and smashed a flat six over deep midwicket, a shot hit with the kind of power and certainty that has made him one of T20 cricket’s most dangerous finishers.

In the 16th over, Miller took on Jansen with a flat six behind square before pulling another boundary in front of square. A few balls later, he reached his half-century off just 28 balls with back-to-back sixes off Ben Dwarshuis.

Brief Scores: PBKS 210/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 59 not out; Priyansh Arya 56; Madhav Tiwari 2/40) lost to DC 216/7 in 19 overs (Axar Patel 56, David Miller 51; Arshdeep Singh 2/21) by 3 wickets.