DHARAMSHALA: Madhav Tiwari still remembers how tiring bowling used to feel. As a 13-year-old kid in Indore, newly introduced to leather-ball cricket after changing schools, batting was the only thing that truly excited him. Bowling, in comparison, felt like labour. “I really liked batting. I wanted to become a batsman. Bowling was very tiring. You have to use your body a lot. I find it easy to bat. You can bat for as long as you want,” Tiwari told TOI after scripting Delhi Capitals’ thrilling three-wicket win over Punjab Kings in Dharamshala on Monday.
At the HPCA Stadium, though, it was his bowling — sharp, heavy and fearless — that first changed the game. Then came the finishing touches with the bat. In just his second IPL appearance, the 22-year-old allrounder produced the kind of performance that instantly forces people to sit up and take note. Who is this boy? Where has he come from? And how has Delhi Capitals unearthed this exciting Indian talent? On a surface that offered generous seam movement, Tiwari bowled with the confidence of someone far more experienced. Clocking speeds in the 137-140 kph range, he attacked the hard lengths relentlessly and struck at crucial moments. His biggest breakthrough came when he got the wicket of the dangerous Priyansh Arya, who had threatened to bat DC out of the contest. Tiwari later returned to dismiss Cooper Connolly with a cleverly disguised slower bouncer, ending with figures of 2/40. “I think the wicket was helping the hard, length ball,” Tiwari said. “So I was kind of sticking to that early on and then tried to mix it with wide yorkers and short balls when I came back towards the end.” Yet the night was only half complete. Delhi still needed composure during a tense chase of 211, and Tiwari provided exactly that. Walking in when the match was on a knife’s edge, he smashed an unbeaten 18 off just eight deliveries, including two boundaries and a six, to help Delhi pull off what became the highest successful T20 chase in Dharamshala. Alongside him was Ashutosh Sharma, someone Tiwari already shared familiarity with from the Madhya Pradesh circuit. “It was clear to us what was required,” Tiwari said. “The way the game was going, both of us needed to hit. We were comfortable with that. We have played together and we know each other. We come from the same place. The atmosphere in the middle was very chill. We also practised together before the IPL.” The 22-year-old hails from Indore, while his family roots trace back to Rewa. His father runs a transportation business and, by Tiwari’s own admission, ensured he never lacked support or facilities while growing up. The biggest influence, however, was former India cricketer Amay Khurasiya. Training at the Amay Khurasiya Cricket Academy, Tiwari was constantly pushed towards becoming a genuine allrounder, even when he himself leaned heavily towards batting. “Amay sir made sure that I picked up on both things,” Tiwari said. “He has played a lot of cricket, so he knew the benefits of being a proper allrounder – especially a pace-bowling allrounder in India. When it dawned on me and I understood how important the combination of both is, I started working equally hard on both.” Years later, the youngster now proudly describes himself as “100 percent bowler and 100 percent batsman.” Interestingly, despite not playing senior domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh even till date, Tiwari attracted IPL attention through standout performances in the Madhya Pradesh Premier League with Bhopal Leopards. Delhi Capitals spotted the raw ingredients — sharp pace, natural seam movement and clean ball-striking ability — and picked him up for Rs 40 lakh ahead of IPL-2025. The outing against Punjab Kings was, in many ways, a stamp of validation. “This is my second year in the IPL. I feel I have gotten used to the environment,” Tiwari said. “The management and all the seniors are super supportive. You can go to them anytime to ask anything. Now that I am used to it, I just have to control my nerves. It’s a game of bat and ball, and I was just focusing on my basics.” And like every young Indian cricketer beginning to find his feet, the dream is to play for the country one day. “That’s the ambition,” Tiwari said about playing for India. “My ambition is to become the best. I have a lot of work to do. I have to get more sharpness in my game. I hope to learn more from here and do well in the future.”
