DPL T20: East Delhi Riders’ Late Surge Secures Final Spot With Victory Over North Delhi Strikers

New Delhi: A late surge by Harsh Tyagi and Kavya Gupta saw East Delhi Riders pip North Delhi Strikers by four wickets in a rain-hit semifinal of the Adani Delhi Premier League T20 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Friday. The victory set up the title clash for East Delhi Riders against the winner of the second semifinal between South Delhi Superstarz and Purani Dilli 6 to be played on Sunday.

The match, which was delayed by an hour and a half, was reduced to 18 overs apiece. North Delhi Strikers posted 173/4, but East Delhi Riders managed to hunt the total down in 17.3 overs, with Harsh Tyagi finishing unbeaten on 43 from 17 balls.

East Delhi Riders started chasing 174 runs with a lot of intensity. Opening aggressively, Anuj Rawat was dismissed for 18 off 9 balls in the second over. In the fifth over, Sujal Singh made 13 off 11 to give East Delhi Riders 54/2 till the Powerplay. Siddharth Solanki, who removed Singh, further checked the opposition’s run-flow, sending back captain Himmat Singh-27 off 18-and Hardik Sharma-14 off 13-off successive overs to peg East Delhi Riders back at 91/4 in 10 overs.

Suyash Sharma turned the heat further by removing Pranav Pant, 6 off 9, leaving East Delhi Riders an uphill task of making 71 runs from 36 balls. Mayank Rawat, who scored 18 off 13 was the next one to fall as Pranshu Vijayran picked his second wicket of the match, keeping North Delhi Strikers in command.

But the onslaught in the next overs by Harsh Tyagi and Impact Sub Kavya Gupta, 25 off 15, was compelling. They whacked 22 runs in the fourth over of Solanki to bring down the required runs to 21 off the remaining 12 balls. The duo successfully chased down the target with three balls to spare, booking a place for East Delhi Riders in the final of the inaugural DPLT20.

Earlier, the openers of North Delhi Strikers Sarthak Ranjan and Vaibhav Kandpal got off to a brisk start, putting 58 runs during the five-over Powerplay.

Mayank Rawat gave East Delhi Riders the much-needed breakthrough by removing Ranjan, 30 off 23, in the seventh over. Harsh Tyagi grabbed two quick wickets in the next overs as North Delhi Strikers were sent reeling at 86/3 in 10 overs. Tyagi accounted for Yash Dabas, 2 off 5, and Kandpal, 39 off 26.

Yajash Sharma got North Delhi Strikers past the 100-run mark in 11.4 overs; the runs coming at a brisk rate. He got a quickfire 34 off 16 balls, which concluded in the 13th over itself.

Vaibhav Rawal, 29 off 20, and Yash Bhatia, 32 off 18, then got together to push North Delhi Strikers past the 150-run mark in 16.1 overs. The two shared a 58-run partnership in 31 balls to help North Delhi Strikers post 173/4 in their allotted 18 overs.