Upasana ton guides North Delhi Strikers Women to title

Tanisha Singh (72 off 40 balls) almost brought the inaugural Delhi Premier League title to South Delhi Superstarz Women’ kitty but Upasana Yadav’s century, the first-ever in the tournament, had set the target so high that it was tough for the South Delhi franchise to scale the North Delhi total.

The 10-run victory eventually made the North Delhi franchise the first champions of the Women’s Delhi Premier League 2024.

Upasana’s unbeaten 114 off 67 balls, featuring 18 fours and three sixes, powered the team to a massive total of 179/3 in 20 overs.

“There was rain. Our plan was to score many runs as possible. We knew that the opposition has good batsmen. So we wanted to score at least 150 runs,” said Upasana after the match.

She employed the sweep shots effectively.

“The square leg was up, and they had off-spinners. So that is why I thought I should sweep the ball.”

The Superstarz began their run chase of 180 runs aggressively but lost their openers, Chhavi Gupta (20 off 20) and Shweta Sehrawat (13 off 11), by the end of the powerplay, with the score on 46 runs.

Riya Soni and Tanisha Singh then added 38 runs off 29 balls, but Riya was dismissed in the 11th over, leaving South Delhi Superstarz at 84/3.

Tanisha Singh then steadied the innings, combining with Nidhi Mahto to help the team cross the 100-run mark in 12.1 overs. Tanisha completed her fifty in 27 balls, bringing the equation down to 59 runs required from 36 balls.

Their 60-run partnership off 37 came to an end when Bharti Rawal removed Nidhi (15 off 16) in the 17th over. Soni Yadav struck twice in the following over, removing Tanisha (72 off 40) and R Priyadarshini (1 off 2), with South Delhi Superstarz at 151/6 after 18 overs.

Ekta Bhadana and Manju Godara then smashed 15 runs in the penultimate over to reduce the equation 14 required off the last six balls.

Nazma Sultana, however, bowled a disciplined last over as she dismissed both Ekta (13 off 8) and Manju (6 off 4) to restrict South Delhi Superstarz Women to 169/8 and eventually clinch the title.

“I think the 18th over was very important. We got the wickets of Tanisha and R Priyadarshini and that put us in the driver’s seat,” said captain Soni Yadav after the match.

Brief Scores

North Delhi Strikers Women 179/3 in 20 overs (Upasana Yadav 114* off 67, Ayushi Soni 31 off 34, Aarti Kumari 2/34) beat South Delhi Superstarz Women 169/8 in 20 overs (Tanisha Singh 72 off 40, Riya Soni 23 off 18, Soni Yadav 2/26)

Tags : Upasana Yadav, North Delhi Strikers, Cricket, Women's Delhi Premier League, Tanisha Singh, Arun Jaitley Stadium