East Delhi Riders etched their name in history as champions of the inaugural Delhi Premier League T20 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. (More Sports News)
A late surge from Mayank Rawat, featuring seven fours and six sixes, propelled East Delhi Riders to a total of 183/5. Meanwhile, three-wicket hauls from Simarjeet Singh and Raunak Waghela secured a thrilling 3-run victory over South Delhi Superstarz.
The South Delhi Superstarz faced early setbacks in their run chase. Priyansh Arya (6 off 2) and Ayush Badoni (7 off 5) were dismissed by Bhagwan Singh and Simarjeet Singh, respectively, leaving the team struggling at 57/3 after the powerplay. Impact player Kunwar Bidhuri (22 off 19) was also caught and bowled by Mayank Rawat.
Sumit Mathur (18 off 15) was the next to fall after a 22-run partnership with Tejaswi Dahiya. Dahiya, in good form, reached a half-century, but Mayank Gupta (1 off 8) and Dhruv Singh (1 off 2) were dismissed cheaply.
Vision Panchal briefly ignited the chase with a nine-ball 25, including three sixes and a four, but was dismissed by Raunak Waghela, leaving South Delhi Superstarz at 109/7 in the 13.5th over.
The South Delhi Superstarz needed 26 runs off 12 balls with Tejaswi Dahiya hitting boundaries regularly. Dahiya launched a big six off Simarjeet in the penultimate over but was dismissed two balls later. In the final over, Digvesh Rathi (21* off 16) hit a six and two fours, but South Delhi Superstarz finished short at 180/9 in 20 overs.
Choosing to bat first, the East Delhi Riders lost both openers in the powerplay. Anuj Rawat (10 off 15) was trapped lbw by Raghav Singh, and Sujal Singh (5 off 6) was removed by Kuldip Yadav, leaving East Delhi Riders at 27/2 in 4.5 overs.
Himmat Singh (20 off 20) and Hardik Sharma (21 off 16) briefly steadied the ship with a 24-run partnership. However, neither batsman could convert their start, as Raghav Singh returned to dismiss Himmat Singh and Hardik Sharma was accounted for by Dhruv Rathi before the 10th over.
Mayank Rawat (78* off 39) ramped up the intensity and combined with Kavya Gupta (16 off 12) for a 47-run partnership in 35 balls. Kavya Gupta became Kuldip Yadav's second wicket of the night, leaving East Delhi Riders at 116/5 in 15.4 overs.
Mayank Rawat steered East Delhi Riders through the death overs, bringing up a 34-ball half-century. Supported by Harsh Tyagi (17 off 12) at the other end, Mayank Rawat tore into Ayush Badoni in the final over, smashing five sixes (6, 0, 6, 6, 6, 6) to propel East Delhi Riders to 183/5 in 20 overs.
Brief Scores
East Delhi Riders won by 3 runs
East Delhi Riders 183/5 in 20 overs (Himmat Singh 20 runs off 20 balls, Hardik Sharma 21 runs off 16 balls, Mayank Rawat 78* runs in 39 balls, Raghav Singh 2/29, Kuldip Yadav 2/37)
South Delhi Superstarz 180/9 in 20 overs (Tejaswi Dahiya 68 runs off 24 balls, Vision Panchal 25 runs off 9 balls, Digvesh Rathi 21* runs off 16 balls, Raunak Waghela 3/31 Simarjeet Singh 3/33, Mayank Rawat 1/15)
