East Delhi Riders clinch Delhi Premier League title in a cliffhanger

The depth and balance that the East Delhi Riders (EDR) have in their line-up came to the fore again on Sunday night as they found a new hero who took them to a total that proved enough to win them the inaugural Delhi Premier League title.

The Riders were struggling with the bat. Openers Sujal Singh (5) and Anuj Rawat (10) were dismissed early, inside the Powerplay, while skipper Himmat Singh (20) and Hardik Sharma (21) were sent back before the first 10 overs could be completed.

The scoreboard reflected the struggle they were going through at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground of the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

They reached their 50 in 8.2 overs, their 100 in 13.4 overs.

The South Delhi Superstarz were bowling to a plan. They surprised the Riders, with skipper Ayush Badoni bowling the first over, and conceding just four.

But Mayank Rawat, who has been chipping in with contributions here and there – he had made a 48 and 66 before -- but was more noticeable with the ball, stuck around to keep East Delhi franchise in, reaching his half-century in 34 balls.  

Mayank Rawat hit five sixes in one over in the final of DPL

The EDR reached 150 in 18.4 overs and a further three runs were added on the last two balls of the 19th over.

Badoni brought on himself for the last over – surprising he didn’t give left-arm spinner Sumit Mathur a single over in the innings – and that is what gave the Riders the outlet they needed.

Badoni erred in length, bowling four full tosses, and was hit by Rawat for five sixes with only the second ball of the over being a dot ball.

Rawat ended with 78 not out off 39 balls (7x4s, 6x6s), helping his team reach 183/5 in 20 overs.

The South Delhi Supertarz, in response, were off to a flying start reaching 50 in 4.5 overs. In the process, though, they lost two of the tournament’s top-scorers – Priyansh Arya (6) and Ayush Badoni (7).

Arya fell to a soft dismissal, getting caught at short mid-off during an erratic first over by Bhagwan Singh that realised 22 runs with four wides and a no-ball. The score was 22 at the fall of his wicket.

Soon after him Badoni fell to a peach of a delivery from Simarjeet Singh that squared him up and caught his edge.

At 37/2 with 'Impact Player' Kunwar Bidhuri (22) scoring the bulk of the runs, Superstarz were faced with a situation they have rarely faced through the tournament – Arya and Badoni failing to score. 

Expectedly, wickets kept falling after their dismissal and soon the South Delhi franchise were 81/6 and then 109/7. 

However, Tejasvi Dahiya kept the fight going and scored a 42-ball 68 (7x4s, 4x6s) to stun the Riders.

He brought the equation down to 38 off 18 balls and then 26 off 12. But a glide down to the third man, which was intercepted Bhagwan Singh, brought him down to the knees. The match had almost slipped away with the Superstarz requiring 19 off the last over.

The Riders captain gave the last over to young, wet-behind-the-ears left-arm spinner Rounak Waghela, who conceded boundaries to Digvesh Rathi.

With five needed off two balls, Waghela bowled a dot. A four from Rathi would bring it down to the Super Over but Waghela made easier for him with a wide.

All Rathi needed was to connect one but Waghela held his nerve and bowled one that Rathi couldn’t latch on to with full force. The Riders players on the field rushed on to the pitch in celebratory mood even before the fielder at the long-off could pick and throw the ball back to the bowler.

Brief Scores

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 not out in 39 balls, Raghav Singh 2/29, Kuldip Yadav 2/37) beat South Delhi Superstarz 180/9 in 20 overs (Tejaswi Dahiya 68 runs off 24 balls, Vision Panchal 25 runs off 9 balls, Kunwar Bidhuri 22 off 19 balls, Digvesh Rathi 21 not out off 16 balls, Rounak Waghela 3/31, Simarjeet Singh 3/33, Mayank Rawat 1/15)

Tags : East Delhi Riders, Delhi Premier League, Mayank Rawat, Tejasvi Dahiya, Simarjeet Singh, Arun Jaitley Stadium