In just his second IPL match and his first of this season, 22-year-old Madhav Tiwari picked up two wickets, including those of Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly. He then played an eight-ball cameo of 18 runs at the end to guide Delhi Capitals to a three-wicket win over Punjab Kings at Dharamshala on Monday night. Tiwari’s all-round performance earned him the Player of the Match award. When asked whether he considers himself more of a batter or a bowler, Tiwari said he sees himself as both equally.
“I would like to say I am a 100 percent bowler and 100 percent batsman,” Tiwari said in the post-match presentation.
Tiwari, who is yet to play for the Madhya Pradesh senior side but has featured in the MP T20 league and the U19 and U23 teams, was picked up by Delhi Capitals for Rs 40 lakh in the 2024 IPL mega auction. Interestingly, Tiwari first played for Delhi Capitals in the IPL last year against Punjab Kings on May 8, a match that was abandoned due to a security blackout following Operation Sindoor. Tiwari later played against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede, a match in which he did not bowl.
On Monday evening, Punjab Kings were 88 for 1 in eight overs when Tiwari came on to bowl. The 22-year-old removed a dangerous-looking Priyansh Arya for 56 with a full delivery. He then dismissed Cooper Connolly in his fourth over, the 18th of the innings. When asked about his bowling plans, Tiwari explained how he mixed wide balls and short balls during his spell.
“I think the wicket was helping the length ball. So I was sticking to that earlier, and I was trying to mix between wide balls and short balls in between. I was prepared, and the conditions were supporting the fast bowlers. Axar Patel told me that if I had gone for runs in my second over, he would have come on to bowl. Luckily, I got to bowl four overs for the team,” Tiwari added.
During the Capitals’ chase, Tiwari came in with Ashutosh Sharma when the team needed 41 runs off 22 balls. Tiwari hit a boundary off the first ball he faced. The pair added 35 runs for the seventh wicket before Sharma fell in the 19th over, with the team needing six runs off seven balls. Tiwari then hit Aquib Nabi for a four and a six to spark celebrations in the Delhi Capitals camp as the team secured the win. Tiwari spoke about how batting coach Ian Bell’s tips helped him.
“Ian Bell just told me, ‘You have the power. You have everything. Just don’t try to do something fancy. Hold your shape and react to the ball,’” Tiwari said.
Tiwari did not feature in Delhi Capitals’ first 11 matches of this IPL. When asked about his mindset during that period, Tiwari shared how he focused on staying fit and worked on his range hitting.
“I thank the management for giving me the opportunity. I am lucky that I ended up on the winning side. The mindset is always that if things are not in your hand, just try to be better in each and every practice session. I spent a lot of time with Munaf Patel sir, our bowling coach. I worked a lot on my bowling, and I worked on my range hitting and shuffling with the batting coach,” said Tiwari.
