Axar, Miller and Debutant Tiwari Star as Delhi Capitals Hunt Down 211 in Historic IPL Run Chase

Dharamsala: Delhi Capitals accomplished the highest successful chase in IPL history by overhauling 210 runs with six balls to spare against Punjab Kings in Match 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Monday.

A strong performance from captain Axar Patel, an aggressive innings from David Miller, and a bold late cameo from IPL debutant Madhav Tiwari. Delhi Capitals chased down 211 after facing early setbacks at 14/2 and later 138/5.

The chase started poorly. Before this, the highest successful T20 chase in Dharamsala had been South Africa's 200 against India in 2015. In the IPL, Chennai Super Kings' 193 against Kings XI Punjab in 2010 set the record. PBKS’ opening bowlers seemed ready to defend 210 as Arshdeep Singh conceded only six runs in the first over, despite an edged boundary. The first blow came quickly. Playing his first game of the season, Shardul Thakur bowled Abishek Porel with a well-placed ball that knocked the middle stump out of the ground.

Things got worse when KL Rahul top-edged a pull shot off Arshdeep, allowing Marco Jansen to sprint from first slip to make a spectacular diving catch ahead of Prabhsimran Singh. At 14/2 after three overs, DC was under significant pressure.

DC stood at 38/3 after five overs, but Axar and Stubbs began to build a solid partnership.

Needing 17 runs in the final two overs, Tiwari started with another boundary before Ashutosh hit a six, only to get out immediately after. A no-ball boundary shifted the momentum again. Auqib Nabi finished the chase with a massive six, allowing DC to complete the highest successful IPL chase in Dharamsala and keeping their playoff hopes alive.

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 in 20 overs.

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.

Brief scores: Punjab Kings 210/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 59 not out, Priyansh Arya 56; Madhav Tiwari2-40, Mitchell Starc 2-57) lost to Delhi Capitals 216/7 in 20 overs (Axar Patel 56, David Miller 51; Arshdeep Singh 2-21, Yash Thakur 2-55) by three wickets. Agencies

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