AI Simulation, PD6 vs WDL | Nitish Rana leads the Lions from front ti beat Purani Delhi 6 by five wickets

Pitch and Weather

The surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was quite easy for stroke play, with spinners playing a crucial role in the middle overs.

The weather in Delhi was hot and dry, with the temperature of 38 degrees Celsius, with a slight breeze; there was no rain throughout the entire game.

Toss

Purani Delhi 6 won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

PD6 XI: Vansh Bedi (WK/C), Aarush Malhotra, Ekansh Dobal, Lalit Yadav, Dev Lakra, Pranav Pant, Samarth Seth, Aayush Singh, Rajneesh Dadar, Pardeep Parashar, Udhav Mohan, Yug Gupta.

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

Match Report

After opting to bat first, Purani Delhi 6 faced the first blow when Aarush Malhotra fell prey to Bhagwan Singh in the fourth over at the team score of just 21 runs. Ekansh Dobal joined the skipper, Vansh Bedi, in the middle and steadied the innings with a 37-run partnership for the second wicket. Dobal’s 22-run knock (two fours and a six) ended in the seventh over when he was caught by Krish Yadav off Lalit Shokeen. However, Bedi continued to set the tone with some crucial boundaries before Shokeen was dismissed at the individual score of 38 runs off 25 balls, with four fours and two sixes. After Bedi’s departure, PD6’s score came to 78/3, and in-form Lalit Yadav was joined by Dev Lakra. The Yadav-Lakra duo added an all-important 44 runs for the fourth wicket, with Yadav dominating it with a knock of 41 runs off just 29 balls. Anirudh Chowdhary broke this partnership by dismissing Lakra in the 14th over. Yadav’s 41-run knock, followed by a few single-digit knocks, helped PD6 score 167/8 in the allotted 20 overs. Shokeen and Chowdhary led the bowling attack for the Lions, picking two wickets each and neutralising PD6’s middle order. Bhagwan Singh also scalped two wickets, including the big wicket of opener Aarush Malhotra.

Continuing their blistering form from the last game, the in-form opening pair of Ankit Kumar and Krish Yadav started the Lions’ run-chase in a swashbuckling style. The duo smashed 42 runs for the first wicket in just 4.4 overs. Ankit’s early strike in the initial overs played a pivotal role in this start, before Yadav (17) lost his wicket to Yug Gupta in the fifth over. Ankit stayed there and stitched another important partnership of 29 runs for the second wicket with Nitish Rana. This partnership came to an end in the eighth over when Udhav Mohan dismissed Ankit, who was playing at 34 runs off 22 balls at that moment. Rana was joined by Ayush Doseja to carry the run chase. Rana continued charging against the PD6 bowlers with his fours and sixes at regular intervals to play a match-winning knock of 55 (33), hitting four fours and as many sixes. Rana’s knock was followed by Doseja (19) and Gusain’s unbeaten 20 off just 11 balls to take the Lions home, scoring 168/5 in 18.4 overs. With this win, Rana’s men also continued their winning spree in the tournament, with their third successive win.

Player of the Match

West Delhi Lions’ Nitish Rana won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his 55-run knock and leading the run chase with an aggressive approach.

Scorecard