AI Simulation, NDS vs WDL । Sarthak Ranjan’s match-winning knock helps Strikers beat Lions by six wickets

Pitch and Weather

It was a slightly dry surface with some cracks, and a good help for the spinners as the game progressed to the middle overs. The shorter boundaries made it quite easy for the batters in the powerplay.

The weather in Delhi on Monday was clear with a gentle breeze, with a temperature of 32 degrees Celsius, setting the stage for the perfect evening game.

Toss

West Delhi Lions won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

NDS XI: Sarthak Ranjan, Vaibhav Kandpal, Yajas Sharma, Arnav Bugga, Arjun Rapria, Yash Bhatia, Harshit Rana (c), Pranav Rajuvanshi (w), Vikas Dixit, Siddhant Bansal, and Kuldip Yadav.

WDL XI: Krish Yadav (w), Ankit Kumar, Nitish Rana (c), Ayush Doseja, Mayank Gusain, Tishant Dabla, Hrithik Shokeen, Bhangwan Singh, Anirudh Chowdhary, Manan Bhardwaj, Shubham Dubey.

Match Report

After opting to bat first, the Lions’ opening pair of Krish Yadav and Ankit Kumar provided a quick but impactful opening start of 29 runs in just four overs. Star pacer Harshit Rana broke the Lions’ momentum by dismissing Ankit on the last ball of the fourth over. Before his dismissal, Ankit managed to hit two fours, scoring 16 runs off 11 balls. Krish Yadav took the innings forward with skipper Nitish Rana, stitching a 37-run partnership for the second wicket. Yadav went back to the pavilion after contributing with a knock of 41 runs off 28 balls, with five fours and a six. Number three batter Ayush Doseja (9) fell cheaply, losing his control on a yorker bowled by Siddhant Bansal on the third ball of the 11th over. He had added 22 runs for the third wicket with Rana. However, Rana stood strong in the middle to add another 36-run stand for the fourth wicket with middle-order batter Mayank Gusain (22), followed by 15-run and 25-run partnerships with Trishant Dabla (18) and Hrithik Shokeen (10). Rana’s knock ended when the Lions had scored 164/5 in 18.2 overs, and he fell prey to his counterpart, Harshit, on the third ball of the over. He played a vital half-century knock of 54 runs off 34 balls, with four fours and three sixes, to help his team put 181/7 on the board. Harshit and Siddhant scalped two wickets each for their side, with the former picking two big wickets of opener Ankit and Nitish Rana.

The Strikers were off to an explosive start, with the openers Sarthak Ranjan and Vaibhav Kandpal scoring 36 runs in just 3.4 overs. The early power-hitting involved Kandpal’s four fours in his 22-run knock off 14 balls, alongside some brilliant boundaries smashed by Sarthak Ranjan. This partnership came to an end when Bhangwan Singh dismissed Kandpal, getting him caught by Ayush Doseja in deep square leg. Sarthak took the front seat to lead his 38-run partnership with Yajas Sharma (16). Then came a game-defining partnership of 54 runs for the third wicket between Sarthak Ranjan and Arnav Bugga. Ranjan had done his job brilliantly, smashing a match-winning knock of 77 runs off 47 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. His efforts were followed by the unbeaten Bugga’s unbeaten knock of 35 runs off 24 balls, with three fours and two sixes. He was accompanied by Arjun Rapira’s unbeaten 18 (14) to help the Strikers chase the target comfortably in 18.5 overs, scoring 182/4. With this win, Harshit Rana and Co. strengthened their position among the top four teams in the tournament’s points table.

Player of the Match

The North Delhi Strikers’ opener Sarthak Ranjan won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning knock of 77 runs off just 47 balls to help his side win the game.

Scorecard