South Delhi Superstarz (SDS) beat Purani Dilli (PD) by three wickets in the opening game of the inaugural season of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) on Saturday, August 17 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. After being put in to bat first, Purani Dilli 6 posted a huge score of 197/3 in their allotted 20 overs with Arpit Rana (59 off 41) and Vansh Bedi (47 off 19) doing the bulk of the scoring.
In reply, SDS chased down the target in 19.1 overs courtesy of half-centuries from Priyansh Arya (57 off 30) and captain Ayush Badoni (57 off 29). Openers Arya and Sarthak Ray began the chase at a blistering pace smashing 73 runs in the powerplay.
Ray, who hammered 41 off 26 balls, was caught and bowled by Shivam Sharma in the seventh over, while Arya reached his fifty off 27 balls in the 12th over. In the same over, skipper Ayush Badoni, who had started his innings cautiously, struck four consecutive sixes off Ankit Bhadana, taking the team’s total to 140/1.
Dilli 6 make a dramatic comeback
Arya was caught by Arpit Rana off Sharma in the following over after scoring 57 runs off 30 balls, including three fours and four sixes. Dhruv Singh (1 off 2) then fell cheaply to Prince Yadav, while Badoni reached his half-century off 25 balls in the 14th over, reducing the equation to 38 runs needed off 36 balls.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically as Purani Dilli 6 claimed four wickets in quick succession. Badoni (57 off 29) and Tejasvi (0 off 1) were dismissed in the 15th over, Kunwar Bidhuri (5 off 7) in the 17th over, and Sumit Mathur (9 off 10) fell in the 18th over, leaving South Delhi needing 13 runs off the last two overs.
Vision Panchal (13 off 7) and Digvesh Rathi then displayed some resilience as they chased down the target with five balls to spare. Earlier in the contest, Purani Dilli 6 were invited to bat first and faced an early setback when Manjeet (13 off 8) was dismissed in the third over.
Rishabh Pant scores 35 (32)
Divij Mehra provided the breakthrough for the South Delhi Superstarz, with Kunwar Bidhuri taking a sharp diving catch near short third man. Despite an early setback, Arpit Rana and star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant took control of the innings as they guided Purani Dilli 6 to 58/1 by the end of the powerplay.
Rana batted fluently and reached his fifty off 37 balls in the 11th over, while Pant played a supporting role. The duo brought up the team’s 100-run mark in the 13th over. However, Rana (59 off 41) was dismissed in the same over of Badoni. Pant followed soon after, dismissed by Kunwar Bidhuri in the 15th over after scoring 35 runs off 32 balls.
With Purani Dilli 6 at 129/3 after 15 overs, Vansh Bedi and Lalit Yadav upped the tempo as they struck a flurry of boundaries in the death overs, adding as many as 79 runs in 34 balls. Bedi’s quickfire 47* off 19 balls and Yadav’s 34* off 21 powered Purani Dilli 6 to an impressive total of 197/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
Brief Scores:
South Delhi Superstarz beat Purani Dilli 6 by 3 wickets
Purani Dilli 6 197/3 in 20 overs (Arpit Rana 59 off 41 balls, Vansh Bedi 47* off 19 balls, Ayush Badoni 1/27)
South Delhi Superstarz 198/7 in 19.1 overs (Ayush Badoni 57 off 29 balls, Priyansh Arya 57 off 30 balls, Shivam Sharma 2/38)