East Delhi Riders etched their name in history by clinching the title of the first-ever Delhi Premier League T20 champions at Arun Jaitley Stadium. A late onslaught from Mayank Rawat, who blasted seven boundaries and six towering sixes, catapulted East Delhi Riders to a competitive total of 183/5. Meanwhile, three-wicket hauls from both Simarjeet Singh and Raunak Waghela helped secure a thrilling 3-run victory over South Delhi Superstarz.
South Delhi’s Opening Batters Fail To Make An Impact
South Delhi’s run chase got off to a shaky start. Despite keeping up with the required run rate early on, they lost key wickets. Priyansh Arya (6 off 2) fell to Bhagwan Singh, while Simarjeet Singh accounted for Ayush Badoni (7 off 5). Their Impact Player, Kunwar Bidhuri (22 off 19), was caught and bowled by Mayank Rawat, leaving them at 57/3 after the powerplay.
Sumit Mathur (18 off 15) partnered briefly with Tejaswi Dahiya before falling, leaving Dahiya to carry the hopes of South Delhi. Dahiya, in great form, completed a fifty, but received little support as Mayank Gupta (1 off 8) and Dhruv Singh (1 off 2) were dismissed cheaply. Vision Panchal provided a brief spark, smashing 25 off just 9 balls with three sixes and a four, but Raunak Waghela cut short his stay, leaving South Delhi teetering at 109/7 in 13.5 overs.
Tejasvi Dahiya The Sole Warrior For South Delhi Superstarz
Tejasvi Dahiya handled the innings and took his team to a point where everyone thought that South Delhi would win. He hit 68 runs off 24 balls. But despite Dahiya’s continued boundary-hitting, the equation became steep—26 runs needed from 12 balls. Dahiya smashed a six in Simarjeet’s penultimate over but was dismissed soon after. In the final over, Digvesh Rathi (21* off 16) hit a six and two fours, but South Delhi fell just short, closing on 180/9 after 20 overs.
Mayank Rawat Shines For East Delhi Riders
Earlier, East Delhi Riders opted to bat first but suffered early blows, losing both openers in the powerplay. Anuj Rawat (10 off 15) was trapped LBW by Raghav Singh, while Sujal Singh (5 off 6) fell to Kuldip Yadav, reducing them to 27/2 in 4.5 overs.
Himmat Singh (20 off 20) and Hardik Sharma (21 off 16) then tried to steady the innings with a 24-run stand. However, neither could push on, as Raghav returned to dismiss Himmat, and Dhruv Rathi accounted for Hardik before the 10th over.
Mayank Rawat then took charge, blasting an unbeaten 78 off 39 balls. His partnership of 47 runs in 35 balls with Kavya Gupta (16 off 12) provided stability before Gupta fell to Kuldip Yadav, leaving East Delhi at 116/5 in 15.4 overs. Rawat’s relentless hitting in the death overs, alongside Harsh Tyagi (17 off 12), saw him bring up his half-century in just 34 balls. Rawat’s finishing touch came in the final over, where he hammered Ayush Badoni for five sixes (6,0,6,6,6,6), powering East Delhi to 183/5.
