Vijay Hazare Trophy: Young Tejasvi Dahiya shines with a ton on Delhi seniors debut

Young 22-year-old debutant Tejasvi Dahiya turned out to be Delhi’s saviour against Tripura in Vijay Hazare Trophy as he powered to 114 off 78 balls (9x4s, 6x6s) and help his side score a 64-run win at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Dahiya had come in place of the injured Anuj Rawat, who suffered a tear and is out of the next match too.

“This was my debut for Delhi seniors and I am thrilled to have scored a century and help in the team’s cause. I got to know at the ground that I would play,” said Dahiya, who plays DDCA league cricket for LB Shastri Club.

Dahiya had to endure a test when Delhi were struggling at 166/5. Seniors like Himmat Singh, Yash Dhull were benched while young Arpit Rana was drafted in.   

“The pitch was a bit double-paced. At 166/5, I realised the responsibility was on me to take the team forward. The objective was to play till the end, the last ball. Just watch the ball and play. Didn’t bother about debut. We did really well.”

Dahiya, Arpit Rana, Mayank Gusain (who batted at No. 3 and scored 10) and Ayush Doseja were sent up from the under-23 level. Dahiya and Gusain had joined the team earlier while Doseja and Rana arrived in the wee hours of Saturday.   

“This was my debut. I got to know at the ground that I would play. Preparations were full due to regular practice sessions we had.”  

Thanks to his 140-run partnership with Sumit Mathur (47 not out off 37 balls, 5x4s, 1x6) Delhi managed to cross 300. Sanat Sangwan scored 54 at the top of the order for Delhi

Tripura’s start was poor. India pace bowler Ishant Sharma picked a wicket in each of his first two overs to peg them back. He finished with 3/5 in five overs.

Right-arm pace bowler Prince Yadav took 4/53 while Hrithik Shokeen took 2/55.

This was Delhi’s third win and puts them in third position in Group E with 12 points after five matches. Bengal are on top with 14 points in four games, Baroda are second with 12 points from four games. Madhya Pradesh (MP) are fourth with 10 points. Delhi, however, are still in a spot of bother as Bengal, Baroda and MP have played only four games.  

Tags : Vijay Hazare Trophy, Delhi cricket, Tripura, Tejasvi Dahiya, Sumit Mathur, Ishant Sharma