The Delhi Capitals successfully chased 210 runs against the Punjab Kings in Match 55 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Monday, which was the highest successful chase in the history of the IPL with six balls remaining.
An outstanding performance from captain Axar Patel, an aggressive innings from David Miller, and a courageous late cameo from IPL rookie Madhav Tiwari. After suffering early setbacks at 14/2 and later 138/5, Delhi Capitals rallied to defeat 211.
The pursuit got off to a bad start. In 2015, South Africa defeated India in Dharamsala’s previous highest successful T20 chase with 200 runs. Chennai Super Kings’ 193 against Kings XI Punjab in the 2010 IPL established the record. Arshdeep Singh’s opening over for PBKS gave up just six runs, even though he had a boundary edge, indicating that the team’s starting bowlers were prepared to defend 210. The initial hit was swift. With a well-placed delivery that dislodged the middle stump from the ground, Shardul Thakur, in his first game of the year, bowled Abishek Porel.
Things went from bad to worse when KL Rahul top-edged a pull shot off Arshdeep, allowing Marco Jansen to sprint from first slip and make a beautiful diving catch in front of Prabhsimran Singh. After three overs, DC was under a lot of pressure at 14/2.
The mood was momentarily lifted by Sahil Parakh, who made his debut. He began his account with a six over long-off off Thakur after nearly getting out on his second ball against Yash Thakur and later added a boundary in a 20-run fourth over that also featured two fours from Tristan Stubbs.
However, in the third Power Play, Arshdeep came back to take Parakh out for 14 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal almost let a straightforward catch slip before taking it, as the hitter mistimed a ramp shot towards short fine leg.
After five overs, DC was at 38/3, but Axar and Stubbs started to form a strong combination. PBKS’s fielding, though, had a combination of highs and lows. Suryansh Shedge later misjudged Axar’s shot at deep square leg, and Arshdeep dropped Stubbs at long-on off Ben Dwarshuis. Finally, after a confusion, Stubbs was run out, and Cooper Connolly struck the bowler’s end with a hard, direct hit.
Miller then came into the game and, together with Axar, restarted the chase. After surrendering 15 wides in 13 overs, PBKS switched the ball because the dew had set in, making it slick. After scoring just 44 runs in his previous eight innings, with an average of 6. 3 runs, Axar finally found his groove.
When DC reached 113/4 after 12 overs, he blasted a six off Dwarshuis after hitting three straight boundaries off Marcus Stoinis to achieve a 28-ball fifty.
Miller kept DC’s hopes alive despite Arshdeep’s strong performance, which included allowing only five runs in the 15th over and finishing with 2/21. In a 15-run over, he hit Jansen for a six and a four before Ashutosh Sharma added another boundary. In an effort to prevent one of those boundaries, Chahal seemed to hurt his left shoulder and was unable to throw for the remainder of the innings.
In the 17th over, the game changed once more. Miller put DC in a better position by hitting two massive sixes against Jansen. But when he tried for his third six, he top-edged a pull stroke, and Prabhsimran dived to catch it close to short third.
However, the game had one more surprise. Madhav Tiwari, who made his IPL debut, maintained incredible composure in the face of adversity. He then collaborated with Ashutosh to hit 19 runs off Stoinis in the 18th over, following a boundary off a backward point. With 18 runs off just eight deliveries, Tiwari turned the tide and maintained DC’s position in the game.
Tiwari began the last two overs, which needed 17 runs, with another boundary before Ashutosh struck a six and was then dismissed. The momentum changed once more because of a no-ball boundary.
With a huge six, Auqib Nabi brought the chase to a conclusion, giving DC the highest successful IPL chase in Dharamsala and maintaining their playoff aspirations.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 210/5 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 59 not out, Priyansh Arya 56; Madhav Tiwari2-40, Mitchell Starc 2-57)
Delhi Capitals 216/7 in 19 overs (Axar Patel 56, David Miller 51; Arshdeep Singh 2-21, Yash Thakur 2-55)