DPL T20: Akhil Chaudhary, Ankit Kumar Shine as West Delhi Lions Defeat North Delhi Strikers by Three Wickets

New Delhi: Akhil Chaudhary's impressive 4/20 and Ankit Kumar's explosive 39 off just 15 balls propelled the West Delhi Lions to a thrilling three-wicket win over the North Delhi Strikers in the third match of the Delhi Premier League T20 at the iconic Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. Chaudhary's fantastic performance with the ball laid the foundation for West Delhi Lions, as they successfully limited North Delhi Strikers to 144/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, 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’s quick-fire knock. His innings ended when he was caught and bowled by Anirudh Chowdhary.

Meanwhile, Shivam Gupta (12 off 8), who had supported Ankit well, was dismissed in the following over by Suyash Sharma, and Anmol Sharma (17 off 18) was trapped LBW by Manan Bhardwaj in the eighth over. Despite losing wickets in quick succession, West Delhi Lions remained in a commanding position at 76/3 after eight overs.

Ekansh Dobal (27 off 24), who came in as an Impact player built a solid partnership of 38 runs off 36 balls with Dev Lakra (13 off 22). However, both Lakra and Dobal were dismissed in the 14th and 15th over respectively, leaving the Lions needing 24 runs from 30 balls.

The North Delhi Strikers managed to take two more late wickets in the 18th over, dismissing Hrithik Shokeen (9 off 10) and Tishant Pawan Dabla (4 off 2), but it wasn’t enough as the West Delhi Lions chased down the remaining runs with nine balls to spare.

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.

With 50/3 after seven overs, Yash Bhatia and Vaibhav Rawal steadied the ship with timely boundaries as they constructed a crucial partnership of 74 runs in 55 deliveries, bringing the team’s total to the 100-run mark in the 14th over. 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. Chaudhary, who had earlier removed Ranjan and Bhatia, finished his quota by 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 within 150.