NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals made five changes for their crucial IPL 2026 clash against Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. Captain Axar Patel won the toss and elected to field first.
"We will be bowling. That's the thing that's going right (winning the toss), in the matches, we haven't won those crucial moments, either with bat, ball or in the field, otherwise we haven't played that badly. We will play our brand of cricket and don't worry about the result. Win or lose, we'll look to play a good brand of wicket. It's a fresh wicket, the new ball might do a bit and we want to let them bat first," Axar said during the toss.
"Five changes for us. Porel, Sahil Parekh, David Miller, Madhav Tiwary and Aaquib Nabi are in," he added.
Delhi Capitals are placed eighth in the IPL 2026 points table and desperately need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer made one change to his playing XI. Punjab Kings are fourth in the points table with 13 points from six wins and three defeats in 10 matches. A victory over Delhi would take them to the top of the standings.
"Honestly, you can't tell a lot about the pitch until you play on it. Go out there and perform. We don't want to think too much about the points table, just focus on your ability and instincts - that's what we have not done well in the last few games, we haven't backed our instincts and do well under pressure. There are going to be ups and downs, it's all about how quickly you go past it," said Shreyas Iyer.
"Ben Dwarshuis comes in place of Lockie Ferguson, who has a slight niggle," Iyer added.
Who is Madhav Tiwari?
Born in 2003, Madhav Tiwari is a young Indian fast-bowling all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh. He made his IPL debut for Delhi Capitals in 2025 and has played just one match for the franchise so far. In his only appearance against Mumbai Indians, he scored three runs before being bowled by Jasprit Bumrah and did not get a chance to bowl.
He is a lower middle-order batter and a handy medium-fast bowler. Tiwari, retained by Delhi Capitals for the 2026 season, is known for his raw pace and aggressive lower-order batting. He was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 40 lakh ahead of IPL 2025.
Tiwari has also been part of the Bhopal Leopards in the Madhya Pradesh Premier League over the last two seasons. He has represented Madhya Pradesh’s U-23 and U-19 teams and featured in the CK Nayudu Trophy (U-23) during the 2024-25 season, scoring two half-centuries, including an 83 against Mumbai when MP were 183/6 while following on, helping the side avoid an innings defeat.
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