New Delhi: East Delhi Riders clinched the inaugural title of the Delhi Premier League T20 2024 following a thrilling three-run win over South Delhi Superstarz in the final played on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The match was a topsy-turvy affair right from the word go.
Decent starts, runs dried in the middle, one player uplifting the team innings, final over blunders are the series of twists and turns for how the match folded up in both innings. The only thing that wasn’t similar in the two innings was South Delhi batter Tejasvi Dahiya left dismayed after his dismissal in the penultimate over of the 184-run chase.
Spirited fightback from Tejasvi in vain
If Mayank Rawat’s determined efforts, laced by the five sixes off Ayush Badoni’s final over, pushed East Delhi Riders to a considerable score of 183 for 5 after his side was tottering at 70 for 4 at the halfway mark, it was Tejasvi’s dogged resistance that kept South Delhi’s chase alive right down to the wire.
Tejasvi fought for the Shikhar Dhawan co-owned team following the dismissals of the star batters Priyansh Arya and Ayush Badoni in the powerplay overs. While Priyansh wanted to charge up against Bhagwan Singh only to get caught at mid-off at the end of first over, Badoni was undone by the varied bounce off Simarjeet Singh in the fourth over.
Tejasvi was the man fighting out in every moment, be it reducing his game to an anchor from being a pure power-hitter as seen in the league stage games. The 21-year-old smashed seven boundaries and four sixes, dispatching the ball over the ropes in regular intervals.
East Delhi Riders vs South Delhi Superstarz on the inaugural season of Delhi Premier League T20 at New Delhi on 8th September 2024.
©Perfect Pitch/ Adimazes
He punished Simarjeet Singh for bowling a beamer on the first ball of the penultimate over with a six over cow corner. The only error in the innings by the wicketkeeper was that he failed to capitalise on the free hit at the start of that over. The pressure mounted leading to his dismissal, and for the next 30 seconds, gutted and unable to fathom what folded up, Tejasvi carried his heavy heart back to the dugout. He was dismissed for 68 after playing 42 balls.
Nonetheless, Digvesh Rathi smashed one six and two boundaries off Rounak Waghela to reduce the equation to five runs from two balls. The match was intriguing by this point and everyone stood on their feet, with some hoping for the first super over of the tournament after Rounak bowled a wide down the leg side.
However, the left-arm spinner was the one to have the last laugh along with his whole team as victorious celebrations ensued on the field.
Mayank Rawat the crisis man for East Delhi Riders
Mayank Rawat has played some crucial knocks and been handy with his off-spin, adding immense value to the Himmat Singh-led side. He picked figures of 2 for 15 with the ball and scored magnificently (55* off 27 deliveries) to guide the East Delhi Riders to a crucial five-wicket win over Purani Dilli 6 in their second league match.
He played a handy cameo of 22-ball 44-run after East Delhi was reduced at 68 for 5 in a 183-run challenging chase. He was awarded the Player of the Match on both instances. But the one on Sunday would pip both of them. Mayank cautiously batted for 10 overs and banked on the loose deliveries as he remained unbeaten on 78 off 39 balls.
Mayank Rawat in East Delhi Riders vs South Delhi Superstarz on the inaugural season of Delhi Premier League T20 at New Delhi on 8th September 2024.
©Perfect Pitch/ Adimazes
Twice he disappointed his batting partner Harsh Tyagi in the space of three balls for refusing to change the strike as the latter also tonked a boundary and a six from the other hand. A big over was on the cards for the Uttarakhand-native, and rightly so, he smashed a 30-run off Ayush Badoni with five massive sixes. Later in the day, Mayank dismissed South Delhi opener Kunwar Bidhuri.
While Tejasvi was on his way to the dugout, Mayank was the first one to go and appreciate his daunting efforts by patting his back. Perhaps he wanted to indicate that ‘I can understand your pain.’
East Delhi Riders clinched the inaugural title of the Delhi Premier League T20 2024 following a thrilling three-run win over South Delhi Superstarz in the final played on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The match was a topsy-turvy affair right from the word go. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
