In a rain-affected game on Saturday, West Delhi Lions defeated the New Delhi Tigers by 15 runs through the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method. Chasing 139, the Lions were 61/2 for eight overs when showers interrupted play.
Though they suffered a glimpse of disappointment at the beginning with the loss of opener Krish Yadav in the first over, the Lions recovered soon. Ankit Kumar provided a quick-fire counterattack, hitting 25 off 14 balls, dotted with four boundaries and a six, before he was caught in the fifth over.
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When rain put a halt, Ayush Doseja (13) and skipper Nitish Rana (8) were taking the innings forward steadily, keeping their team ahead of the DLS par score.
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Tigers Stumble Despite Rawal's Fightful Half-Century
Earlier, having been asked to bat, the New Delhi Tigers scored 138/8 in their 20 overs, not able to gather early impetus as a result of a top-order collapse.
Opener Shivam Gupta got bowled on the first ball, and that set a nervous tone. Parth Bali and Dhruv Kaushik followed soon enough, both getting out in the powerplay, leaving the Tigers in deep distress.
Vaibhav Rawal remained firm in the midst of the mayhem, scoring a mature knock of 64 off 50 balls, with five fours and two sixes. There was some relief provided by skipper Himmat Singh, too, who scored a solid 30 off 30 balls, to stabilize the innings at a tricky juncture.
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Lions' Bowlers Deliver a Clinical Performance
The Lions' bowling team made a dominant display to limit the Tigers to an under-par score. Manan Bhardwaj spearheaded the attack with an outstanding spell, taking 3 wickets for only 12 runs in 3 overs.
He was ably supported by Anirudh Chowdhary (2/26) and Shubham Dubey (2/25), who both claimed important wickets at regular intervals. Their line and length were disciplined to the extent that the Tigers were never able to establish any stable partnerships.
While Lakshay Thareja contributed a late unbeaten 13 of 9 balls, the score of 138 never really looked sufficient on a batting-friendly pitch.