DPL: Lions trapped in a web of spin laid by Kings

Central Delhi Kings, riding on impactful captaincy of Jonty Sidhu, coasted to a resounding 10-wicket victory over West Delhi Lions in a Delhi Premier League match on Saturday night.

Sidhu, who led the side in the absence of regular skipper Yash Dhull, played the right cards by bringing in spinners early and keeping pacer Rajneesh Dadar till the end.

The spin duo leg-spinner Prince Chaudhary and left-arm spinner Yogesh Sharma, who both play for Lala Ram Charan Aggarwal Club in DDCA League, bowled tight lines, picking 2/22 and 2/12 respectively after pace bowler Sumit Kumar had made early breakthroughs, to restrict West Delhi Lions to 123/8 in 20 overs.

The Lions found the going so tough that they reached the 50-run mark in the 10th over, losing three wickets. Soon they were reduced to 69/6 in 13.1 overs. There were phases in the Lions’ innings where they went boundary-less.

They couldn’t get a single boundary in 41 balls and it was only on the third ball of the 14th over that they scored a boundary on.

They then went without a boundary for 25 balls and only towards the end some shackles were broken as they managed to get to 100 in 18.1 overs. By then, it was clear that the match was out of their grasp.

The swashbuckling Lakshay Thareja, who lit up the DDCA League by scoring a series of centuries in the season gone-by, was promoted up the order. He scored 68 not out off 37 balls, rotating the strike well, and together with Rohtak Road Gymkhana teammate Dhruv Kaushik (68 not out off 52 balls), took the team to a 10-wicket victory.

Spinner Sharma confirmed that Yash Dhull had to be rested because he was unwell.   

Ayush Doseja is stumped by Lakshay Thareja and bowled by Prince Chaudhary 

About his combination with Chaudhary, the left-arm orthodox said, “We have played together since the beginning. Our coach Kesar Chaudhary also taught us that we should bowl in partnership. That became a habit and that is what we are applying here.

Sharma added about the strategy to use spinners early, “Captain [Sidhu] decided that since pace bowler Dadar bowls well in slog overs, we can use him in the end. That was the captain and coach’s call.

“My thinking was that I should bowl in the right areas (acchhaa tappa) because in T20 cricket, people go for dot balls. This is an aggressive format, and we need wickets.”

Brief Scores

West Delhi Lions 123/8 in 20 overs (Tishant Dabla 27* off 22 balls, Aryan Dala 22 off 16 balls; Sumit Kumar 2/18, Yogesh Sharma 2/12, Prince Choudhary 2/22) lost to Central Delhi Kings 124/0 in 14.5 overs (Dhruv Kaushik 68 off 52 balls, Lakshay Thareja 46 off 37 balls).

Tags : Delhi Premier League, Cricket, Sumit Kumar, Dhruv Kaushik, Prince Chaudhary, Yogesh Sharma, Central Delhi Kings, West Delhi Lions, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Ferozeshah Kotla