Delhi Capitals were three wickets down inside the powerplay, chasing 211 at Dharamsala’s HPCA Stadium on Monday night. Most had already written them off. But captain Axar Patel and David Miller had other ideas, firing brilliant half-centuries to pull off the highest successful T20 chase the HPCA Stadium has ever seen and push Punjab Kings to a fourth straight defeat.
Punjab Kings Go Big at the Mountain Ground
Axar Patel won the toss and chose to bowl first, reading a fresh pitch that he felt would offer early movement for his fast bowlers. The plan held for about three overs. Then Priyansh Arya arrived.
The young Punjab opener was in a different zone entirely. He blasted 56 off just 33 balls, hitting six sixes and two boundaries, as Punjab Kings raced to 72 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. It was breathtaking hitting at altitude, where even mistimed shots were clearing the ropes.
Mukesh Kumar and Auqib Nabi applied the brakes in the middle overs, conceding just 21 runs across three overs after the powerplay. But Shreyas Iyer and Cooper Connolly steadied the innings with an 83-run stand. Connolly added 38 off 27 before Madhav Tiwari removed him.
Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings beautifully, finishing with an unbeaten 59 off 36 balls, including five fours and three sixes. Mitchell Starc struck twice in the 19th over to remove both Marcus Stoinis and Shashank Singh off back-to-back deliveries. But Suryansh Shedge hit the hat-trick ball for a six and went on to smash 21 off just 8 balls, taking Punjab past 200. The final total was 210 for 5 in 20 overs. Iyer later admitted it felt about 30 runs more than par.
DC Collapse Early But Axar Refuses to Surrender
The target looked even bigger once Delhi’s reply got underway. Yash Thakur, playing his first game of the season, uprooted Abishek Porel’s middle stump in the second over. From the other end, Arshdeep Singh had KL Rahul caught at the boundary after a top-edged pull, with Marco Jansen completing a stunning 28-metre diving catch from first slip. Delhi were 14 for 2.
Sahil Parakh offered a brief spark before Arshdeep had him caught at short third. A horrible mix-up then led to a Tristan Stubbs run-out. Delhi were suddenly 74 for 4 chasing 211, and the playoff race looked over for them right there.
Then came the remarkable stat that defined this game. Not a single over of spin was bowled across both innings. That has happened only once before in an IPL match of considerable length, back in 2008. The pitch was simply that friendly to seamers on both sides.
When Axar Patel walked in to bat, the weight of an entire season sat on his shoulders. He had scored just 44 runs in eight innings before this game at an average of 6.3. His scores leading up to this match read 0, 2, 1, 26, 2, 0, 2 and 11. For a captain, that kind of drought is both personal and deeply damaging to team confidence.
He changed all of that in one stunning batting display. Axar hit Marcus Stoinis for three consecutive boundaries to get going and then raced to his 50 off just 30 balls. He added a six off Ben Dwarshuis as DC pushed to 113 for 4 after 12 overs. The dew settling in was making the ball slippery, and Punjab changed it after conceding 15 wides in 13 overs.
Axar fell to Stoinis for 56 off 30 balls but the damage was already done. He also crossed 2,000 IPL runs during the knock, reaching 2,016 in 174 appearances. It was his fourth IPL half-century but arguably the most important of his career.
Miller Delivers a Masterclass and the Lower Order Closes It Out
David Miller walked in and did exactly what David Miller does in the biggest moments. Pure, calculated destruction.
The South African left-hander blazed 51 off just 28 balls, hitting four sixes. He and Ashutosh Sharma hit 15 runs off Jansen in the 16th over. Then in the 17th, Miller muscled Dwarshuis for two massive sixes off the first two balls to make Delhi the clear favourites.
Miller fell immediately after his fifty, caught off Dwarshuis. Delhi still needed 41 from 21 balls with just two recognized batters left. Punjab looked like they could claw it back. They could not.
Ashutosh Sharma played intelligently, using angles to rotate strike and keep the pressure off. Madhav Tiwari, playing his very first IPL game, was ice-cold under pressure, smashing 18 not out off just 8 balls. Auqib Nabi finished it with a six in the 19th over, his 10 not out sealing the most dramatic of wins.
Delhi Capitals completed the highest successful T20 chase in the history of the HPCA Stadium, finishing at 216 for 7 with a full over to spare.
- Previous highest T20 chase at Dharamsala: South Africa 200 vs India (2015)
- Previous highest IPL chase at this venue: CSK 193 vs Kings XI Punjab (2010)
- DC finished the 211-run chase in 19 overs
- PBKS conceded 17 wides across the chase
- Axar Patel: 56 off 30 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes)
- David Miller: 51 off 28 balls (4 sixes), 14th IPL half-century
Punjab’s Bowling and Fielding Continue to Let Them Down
For Punjab Kings, this was a deeply uncomfortable fourth consecutive defeat after starting the IPL as one of the tournament’s form teams. The cracks in their game are now impossible to ignore.
Their bowling unit remains the biggest concern. Punjab carry the worst economy rate in IPL 2026 at 10.49 runs per over. Even Arshdeep Singh, who bowled brilliantly with 2 for 21 on the night, is conceding 10.42 runs per over across the season.
| Punjab Bowler | Season Economy Rate |
|---|---|
| Arshdeep Singh | 10.42 |
| Vijaykumar Vyshak | 10.85 |
| Xavier Bartlette | 11.29 |
| Marco Jansen | Below 10.00 (only pacer) |
Shreyas Iyer was direct about it after the match. “Fielding and bowling again,” he said when asked where things went wrong.
Their catching has been just as damaging. Punjab have dropped 16 catches across IPL 2026, with Shashank Singh alone shelling five of them. On a night when sharp catching could have changed the result, sloppy ground fielding and dropped chances cost them dearly.
Yuzvendra Chahal also appeared to pick up a left shoulder injury while trying to stop a boundary, leaving Punjab with further selection concerns heading into their remaining matches. Arshdeep was also forced to complete his four-over spell unusually early, which removed Punjab’s best weapon when they needed it most.
On the points table, Delhi Capitals have climbed to seventh spot with 10 points from 12 matches. Punjab Kings remain fourth with 13 points from 11 games but their grip on a top-two finish is becoming less certain by the match.
This was a game of enormous character, played in a setting that makes IPL cricket feel like nothing else in the world. Axar Patel answered every question about his form in the most commanding way a captain possibly can. David Miller reminded an entire tournament why you do not write him off in a run chase. And young debutant Madhav Tiwari walked into the biggest moment of his career and looked completely at home. Delhi Capitals are still alive, and Punjab Kings have a lot of thinking to do. What did you make of this brilliant match? Share your thoughts in the comments and spread the word with fellow cricket fans using #PBKSvsDC on social media.
