South Delhi Superstarz (Photo Source: X(Twitter)
New Delhi, 28 August 2024: Priyansh Arya and captain Ayush Badoni’s blistering 117-run partnership off 51 balls, followed by Digvesh Rathi’s magical spell of 3/12, helped South Delhi Superstarz defeat Central Delhi Kings by 122 runs in the 18th match of the Delhi Premier League T20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
Priyansh Arya’s 88 off 42 and Ayush Badoni’s 76 off 32 powered South Delhi Superstarz to a monumental total of 254/5 in their allotted 20 overs. South Delhi Superstarz bowlers then ensured a dominant victory with a clinical bowling performance as they bowled Central Delhi Kings out for 132 in 17.4 overs.
Central Delhi Kings began their run chase at a rapid pace but couldn’t sustain the momentum as they were reduced to 68/3 by the end of the powerplay. Kuldip Yadav picked up two wickets in his two consecutive overs. He dismissed Dhruv Kaushik (18 off 8) and Dipesh Balyan (10 off 13) in the third and fifth overs respectively, while Shubham Dubey removed Hiten Dalal (5 off 3) in the fourth over.
Impact Sub Aryan Rana (16 off 14), captain Jonty Sidhu (12 off 9), and Keshav Dabas (1 off 6) were also sent back to the pavilion in quick succession as Central Delhi Kings were struggling at 80/6 at the halfway mark.
Rathi, who had dismissed Rana and Dabas, claimed his third wicket by sending Harish Dagar packing for 1 off 7 in the 11th over.
Money Grewal (5 off 5) was dismissed by Sumit Mathur in the 13th over, while Central Delhi Kings crossed the 100-run mark in the 14th over.
Keeping Net Run Rate in mind, Lakshay Thareja and Siddhant Bansal showed resilience in the following overs and added 33 runs off 29 balls before. However, both were dismissed by impact substitute Anshuman Hooda in the 18th over as Central Delhi Kings were bowled out for 132 in 17.4 overs.
Earlier in the contest, South Delhi Superstarz lost Sarthak Ray (3 off 4) in the second over. However, skipper Badoni and Arya picked up right where they left off in the previous game. Badoni blazed to a fifty in just 21 balls, with South Delhi Superstarz at 75/1 by the end of the Powerplay. In no time they surged past the 100-run mark.
Badoni’s incredible knock of 76 off 32 came to an end as Harish Dagar provided a much-needed breakthrough to Central Delhi Kings in the 10th over. Arya, on the other hand, brought up his half-century in the following over in just 26 balls. His aggressive batting pushed the team total to 150 in just 12 overs.
Arya, who was gunning for his second consecutive century of the tournament, fell short when Dhruv Kaushik dismissed him in the 15th over. His blistering 88-run knockoff 42 featured seven fours and six sixes.
However, by that time, South Delhi Superstarz was in a solid position to set the tournament’s highest total for the third consecutive time. Vision Panchal (23 off 12) and Dhruv Singh (42* off 22) then combined as South Delhi Superstarz crossed the 200-run mark in just 15.4 overs. Their 59-run partnership off 27 balls in the latter stages powered the team to a massive total of 254/5 in 20 overs.
For the Central Delhi Kings, Rajneesh Dadar and Harish Dagar grabbed a couple of wickets each.
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