DPL T20: Kandpal, Dabas fifties help North Delhi Strikers cruise to 7-wicket win over Central Delhi Kings

New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Riding on impressive half-centuries by Vaibhav Kandpal and Yash Dabas, the North Delhi Strikers cruised to a seven-wicket win over Central Delhi Kings in the fourth match of the Adani Delhi Premier League T20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Monday.

Dhruv Kaushik’s 63 off 34 and Jonty Sidhu’s 42 off 28 guided Central Delhi Kings to a total of 175/5 in 20 overs, but breezy knocks from Kandpal and Dabas helped North Delhi Strikers chase down the target in 18.1 overs. Despite losing Sarthak Ranjan (10 off 7) early in the second over, North Delhi Strikers took an aggressive approach to chase down the target of 176. Vaibhav Kandpal and Yash Dabas complemented each other as they took the team’s total to the 100-run mark by the 10th over.

However, Dabas, who played a remarkable 56-run knock off 33 balls, was dismissed by Rajneesh Dadar in the following over. Kandpal continued in the same vein, bringing up his fifty in 30 balls in the 14th over, but was caught near the square leg region by Sumit Kumar off Money Grewal’s over after scoring a brilliant 60 off 35 balls. Despite his dismissal, North Delhi Strikers remained in a commanding position at 147/3 in 14.3 overs.

Yash Bhatia, who provided support to Kandpal, stepped up as his unbeaten 34 off 26 balls ensured that North Delhi Strikers secured a clinical win with 11 balls to spare.

Earlier in the day, Central Delhi Kings got off to a decent start, thanks to their openers, Hiten Dalal and Dhruv Kaushik. However, Dalal couldn’t capitalise on his promising beginning, as he was dismissed by Suyash Sharma in the fifth over after scoring 27 off 20 balls.

Skipper Yash Dhull (11 off 16) then fell cheaply to Manan Bhardwaj in the ninth over, with Central Delhi Kings at 65/2. Opener Kaushik took charge and built a solid partnership with Jonty Sidhu. Their timely boundaries and steady play helped Central Delhi Kings reach the 100-run mark in the 12th over.

Kaushik brought up his half-century with a stunning six as reached the milestone in just 28 balls in the 13th over. However, he was dismissed in the following over by Yatish Singh after scoring an impressive 63 off 34 balls, which included four fours and four sixes.

Sidhu’s innings also came to an end as he was bowled by Suyash, who finished with the figures of 2/35 in his 4 overs. Suyash conceded just seven runs in the 18th over, leaving Central Delhi at 158/4. Sidhu contributed 42 off 28 balls.

Anirudh Chowdhary then conceded just four runs in the 19th over, completing his quota with figures of 0/25. Keshav Dabas played a little cameo of 14 off 7 balls to guide Central Delhi Kings to post 175/5 in 20 overs.

Brief scores:

Central Delhi Kings 175/5 in 20 overs (Dhruv Kaushik 63, Jonty Sidhu 42; Suyash Sharma 2-35) lost to North Delhi Strikers 177/3 in 18.1 overs (Vaibhav Kandpal 60, Yash Dabas 56, Money Grewal 1-27) by 7 wickets.

–IANS

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