PBKS vs DC IPL 2026: Delhi Capitals star Madhav Tiwari drops bold STATEMENT after brilliant all-round heroic

Delhi Capitals kept their slim IPL 2026 playoff hopes alive after a thrilling three-wicket victory over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala, and young all-rounder Madhav Tiwari emerged as the biggest talking point of the night.

Playing only his second official IPL game, the 22-year-old impressed with both bat and ball and played a major role in Delhi’s successful chase of 211. His all-round performance also earned him the Player of the Match award.

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Madhav Tiwari delivers after long wait for opportunity

Tiwari revealed after the game that he stayed patient and continued working hard in training while waiting for his opportunity in the playing XI.

“First of all, I would like to thank the management for giving me this opportunity and I’m lucky enough I was able to be on the winning side,” Tiwari said.

“So the mindset is always that if things are not in your hand, you just try to be better in each and every practice session. I worked a lot of time with Munaf [Patel, DC bowling coach] sir, I worked on my bowling a lot and I worked on my range-hitting and stuff like that with our batting coach and it was fun and I was happy if I was able to contribute for the team.“

Interestingly, Tiwari had earlier made his IPL debut against Punjab Kings during the abandoned fixture last season, but did not get another chance after the match was replayed.

Tiwari impresses with ball on seamer-friendly pitch

The Dharamsala surface offered plenty of movement for the fast bowlers, and Delhi relied entirely on pace throughout the innings.

Tiwari made an instant impact by dismissing the dangerous Priyansh Arya after the PBKS opener had smashed 56 off 33 balls. He later removed Cooper Connolly with a clever slower bouncer to finish with figures of 2/40 from four overs.

“I think the wicket was helping the length ball,” Tiwari said.

“So I was kind of sticking to that early on the phase and I was trying to mix it with wide balls and short balls in between.”

Also Read: MASSIVE blow for DC! Axar Patel pays heavy fine after Delhi Capitals’ thrilling chase

Youngster finishes chase with fearless cameo

Tiwari also contributed with the bat during the tense chase, smashing an unbeaten 18 off just eight deliveries, including two boundaries and a six.

His calm finishing helped Delhi complete the highest successful T20 chase ever recorded in Dharamsala.

The youngster also spoke confidently about his all-around abilities.

“I would like to say I’m 100% bowler and 100% batsman,” he said.

Tiwari credited batting coach Ian Bell for helping simplify his approach in pressure situations.

“So, the batting coach just told me, ‘you got the power, you got everything. Just don’t try to look to do something fancy. Just hold your shape and react to the ball’.”

Axar Patel hopeful about DC playoff chances

Delhi captain Axar Patel said his team still believes it can qualify for the playoffs despite a difficult season so far.

“I have been saying it since the last time as well: if we can hold crucial moments in matches, we can win. The team is very good, and we have been playing good cricket too. We lost one or two matches because we gave away crucial moments, and that’s why we are here.”

Axar also praised the bowling efforts of Madhav Tiwari, Mukesh Kumar and Auqib Nabi for helping Delhi fight back after Punjab’s explosive start.

“The way we fought back to end the powerplay with 72 runs after giving away 51 runs in the first three overs was the defining moment of the match.”

“The way Mukesh Kumar and Madhav Tiwari bowled in the middle overs, apart from the partnership between myself and David Miller, set the match for players like Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari to finish it.”

DC stay alive in playoff race

The victory moved Delhi Capitals to 10 points from 12 matches and kept them mathematically alive in the IPL 2026 playoff race.

However, Axar Patel’s side will likely need to win their remaining matches and depend on other results to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer explains Punjab Kings mistakes & why they snubbed Chahal in loss to DC