Shahbaz Ahmed, Lalit Yadav clobber Rann Star after spinning a web

Opening batsman Keshav Dalal continued his purple patch in Delhi cricket's Hot Weather season notching yet another ton but it were the seasoned professionals Shahbaz Ahmed and Lalit Yadav who made short work of the target set by Rann Star Cricket Club to help their team Sporting Cricket Club march into the final of the Lala Raghubir Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Modern School Ground, Barakhamba Road, on Wednesday afternoon.

Both Yadav and Ahmed picked wickets and scored half-centuries to script for their team, a seven wicket win with 14.5 overs to spare.

Dalal's 120 off 77 balls (12x4s, 8x6s) and Himmat Singh's 54 off 61 balls (5x4s, 3x6s) were the only scores of note for Rann Star as the batsmen struggled to read Bengal Ranji Trophy spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who arrived here immediately after representing Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and ended with a haul of 4/25 in eight overs. He removed Anmol Sharma and three middle and lower-order batsmen to shake Rann Star line-up.

Rann Star were cruising at 190/3 in 27 overs but then Dalal was dismissed by Vision Panchal after his second century in this tournament. Dalal leads the runs tally with 308 runs. Prior to this, he had helped Mount CC lift the Laxman Dass Memorial title with a century.

It was after Dalal's dismissal that Shahbaz Ahmed smelt blood and struck three successive blows to leave Rann Star reeling at 199/7 in the 31st over.

Dalal and Himmat had added 62 for the fourth wicket. Himmat, being an experienced player and Ahmed's teammate at LSG in IPL, and the young Dalal were the only ones to offer some resistance as the left-arm spinner from Hathin village of Mewat spun a web around Rann Star.

"It felt great playing this tournament after a long time. The ball was turning in the first innings and I just wanted to keep the ball within the stumps, and extracted turn from there. In the end, we won the match. Feels great," said Shahbaz Ahmed who said it wasn't that tough to adjust to red ball cricket. It certainly wouldn't for an experienced player like him.

"Both are different formats. This is a 40-over game played with red ball, IPL is played with white ball. There is a huge difference. But you just need a change in mindset. We practice one session and adjust," said Ahmed.

Ahmed got to play just three matches for LSG in IPL 2025 and says he was not that satisfied.

"I played three matches, bowled, got batting only once and am not really satisfied. I want to improve. I am focussing on Bengal Premier League," said the 30-year-old Ahmed.

If Ahmed has set sight on Bengal Premier League, Yadav who has also played IPL in the past, is looking ahead to the Delhi Premier League.

The off-spinner Yadav removed Sujal Singh early and came back to pick Himmat Singh towards the end to finish with 2/47 in five.

The duo then cashed in on a good start provided by Hardik Sharma (45 off 34) and skipper Shivam Gupta (44 off 23) and added unbeaten 139 for the fourth wicket to help win the match.

Lalit Yadav hammered 82 off 35 balls (4x4s, 9x6s) while Shahbaz Ahmed scored 71 off 50 balls (3x4s, 7x6s).

"We were chasing 250, so we thought we will see and try to finish unbeaten at the end. We had talked in mid-innings that we will do two 50-run partnerships which will help the target become smaller. We got a good start and our plan was to take the momentum ahead and remain not out," said Yadav.

"I am trying to make myself a better match-winner. I try and do better and better. The DPL was okay last season but not according to my expectations. I have learnt quite a bit in the process," said the 28-year-old Lalit Yadav.

The final will be played between Sporting and Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy on June 7.

(Note: The picture shows Rann Star coach Randhir Singh (right) giving away the Man of the Match Award to Shahbaz Ahmed) 

Tags : Shahbaz Ahmed, IPL 2025, LSG, Lalit Yadav, Lala Raghubir, Delhi cricket, Keshav Dalal