Delhi Capitals keep themselves alive in the playoff race of IPL 2026 with a three-wicket win over Punjab Kings at Dharamshala on Monday night. The team currently has ten points after 12 games, and if the Axar Patel-led team can win their remaining matches, they can still qualify for the play-offs if other permutations and combinations go their way. Skipper Axar Patel sounded hopeful that the team can do well in the remaining matches and also hold it together in crucial moments.
“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. But such things happen in a long tournament. Not all days are equal. I am very happy with the way the team played and hope that we will do well in the remaining matches,” Patel said in the post-match presentation.
With Delhi Capitals winning the toss and deciding to bowl first, Punjab Kings raced to a breezy start as their openers Priyanshu Arya and Prabhsimran Singh amassed 51 runs in the first three overs. Delhi Capitals made a comeback in the next seven overs, giving away only 56 runs. With Punjab Kings eventually finishing at 210 for 5, the Axar Patel-led side had to chase the target on a pitch offering assistance to the pacers. After being 72 for 4 in 7.2 overs, Delhi Capitals’ innings was given a push by a 64-run fifth-wicket partnership between Patel and David Miller, before some hard hitting by Miller, Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari in the death overs steered the team home with one over to spare. Patel praised his team’s bowlers as well as youngsters like Ashutosh Sharma and Madhav Tiwari for playing their part in the win.
“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. Given the kind of wicket it was, where the ball swung and cut, it was crucial to utilise the conditions. The bowlers did not bowl the right length in the first two or three overs, but the way Madhav and Aquib Nabi swung the ball was crucial for us in making the comeback. The pitch was offering assistance to the pacers, and I did not feel the need to bowl spinners. I thought I have five fast bowlers, so let me use them,” added Patel.
Patel played a 30-ball knock of 56 runs, his highest score in this IPL. When asked about his knock and the way he batted on Monday, the two-time T20 World Cup winner shared how he had been following his process in earlier matches and it clicked on Monday.
“It was the same in earlier matches as well. Today it clicked. Everyone faces this kind of phase, but doing what you have to do continuously is very important. Today I got the chance. Sometimes luck does not favour you, but today luck changed with the dropped catch. I was just following my process and luckily got the runs too,” said Patel.
