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DPL: North Delhi prevail over West Delhi in battle of wooden spooners
In a rain-shortened match, 19-year-old Yajas Sharma scores 41 off 21 balls to take the Strikers to a seven-wicket win over Lions in a Delhi Premier League game; Anmol Sharma's 11-ball unbeaten 32 had earlier saved the Lions from humiliation in the innings
29 Aug, 2024
Nineteen-year-old Yajas Sharma hit 41 off 21 balls (4x4s, 3x6s) in a game shortened to seven overs due to rain to lead North Delhi Strikers to a seven-wicket win over West Delhi Lions on Thursday.
The match went down to the penultimate ball of the match as India pacer Navdeep Saini, representing the Lions, was left to defend 12 runs in the last over.
Yajas, who had hit an effortless six over long-off, was dismissed off the first ball of the last over. His replacement Pranshu Vijayran almost sealed the match on the next ball, but the shot was stopped by Dev Lakra who jumped in the air to throw the ball back into the field of play.
Yash Dabas then almost got a boundary but a diving pacer Rohit Yadav cut it down to one.
Saini was given an opportunity to win the match for his side and overcome the disappointment of the previous games. However, he bowled full deliveries wide outside the off-stump and Vijayran cashed in on them, scoring boundaries and winning the game.
“We were in a bit of a shock as two possible boundaries were stopped, we lost nine runs. But we knew that our captain (Vijayran) plays good shots down the order and we would chase. The momentum was with us. They were the ones scared,” said Yajas, the Player of the Match.
West Delhi Lions had earlier started poorly, losing four wickets for 24. However, Anmol Sharma’s 11-ball 32 took them to 87/7 in the allotted seven overs.
“With the start we got, we wanted to restrict them to 65-70. But Anmol clicked and took them to 87,” said Yajas, who shifted to Delhi from Haryana with parents just to play cricket. He shared a 73-run second wicket partnership with Sarthak Ranjan (27 off 14).
Brief Scores
West Delhi Lions: 87/7 in 7 overs (Anmol Sharma 32* off 11 balls; Anirudh 2/27, Suyash 2/25 and Aman 2/15) lost to North Delhi Strikers: 88/3 in 7 overs (Yajas Sharma 41 off 21 balls, Sarthak 27 off 14 balls)
Tags : Delhi Premier League, Cricket, Hrithik Shokeen, North Delhi Strikers, West Delhi Lions, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Ferozeshah Kotla