Akhil Chaudhary’s 4/20 and Ankit Kumar’s blistering 39 off 15 balls powered the West Delhi Lions to a three-wicket victory over the North Delhi Strikers in the third match of the Adani Delhi Premier League T20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
Akhil Chaudhary’s 4/20 with the ball set the tone for West Delhi Lions as they restricted North Delhi Strikers to 144/8 in 20 overs. West Delhi Lions then chased down the target in 18.3 overs.
The West Delhi Lions started their chase of 145 with explosive intent as they crossed the 50-run mark in just 3.1 overs, thanks to Ankit Kumar’s quick-fire 39 off 15 balls. His innings ended when he was caught and bowled by Anirudh Chowdhary on the very next delivery.
After opting to bowl first, West Delhi Lions bowlers did well to contain the North Delhi Strikers from scoring big. By the end of the powerplay, the North Delhi Strikers were 48/2, having lost Sarthak Ranjan (1 off 6) and Yash Dabas (10 off 11). Vaibhav Kandpal had gotten a decent start but was trapped LBW by Hrithik Shokeen after scoring 29 off 22 balls.
As the Strikers attempted to accelerate, Rawal was dismissed in the 16th over for 36 off 29 balls. His partner Bhatia followed in the next over, scoring 37 off 28, leaving North Delhi struggling at 126/5 after 17 overs.
From there on, West Delhi Lions were in the driving seat, scalping three quick wickets. Pranshu Vijayran (3 off 8) fell cheaply in the 18th over to Navdeep Saini. Akhil Chaudhary, who had earlier removed Ranjan and Bhatia, finished his quote with impressive figures of 4/20, dismissing Siddhant Sharma (6 off 3) and Pranav Rajvanshi (1 off 3) in the 19th over. Saini bowled a tight last over as West Delhi Lions restricted North Delhi Strikers to 144/8 in 20 overs.
Brief Scores
North Delhi Strikers: 144/8 in 20 overs (Yash Bhatia 37 off 28, Vaibhav Rawal 36 off 29, Akhil Chaudhary 4/20)
West Delhi Lions: 150/7 in 18.3 overs (Ankit Kumar 39 off 15, Ekansh Dobal 27 off 24, Anirudh Chowdhary 2/25)
