AI Simulation, CDK vs NDT । Himmat Singh's grit guides New Delhi Tigers to second successive win in DPL 2025

Pitch and Weather

It was a typical flat surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, which was ideal for batting, alongside being slightly dry with some grass that aided seam movement in the earlier part of the game.

The weather in Delhi was warm, with a temperature of 33 degrees Celsius and negligible humidity. There was no rain threat, but the dew factor came into play as the game progressed under the lights, which favoured the team batting second.

Toss

New Delhi Tigers won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Lineups

CDK XI: Siddharth Joon (WK), Yash Dhull, Aditya Bhandari, Jonty Sidhu (C), Jasvir Sehrawat, Pranshu Vijayran, Sumit Chhikara, Simarjeet Singh, Tejas Baroka, Money Grewal, Gavnish Khurana, and Yugal Saini.

NDT XI: Dhruv Kaushik, Shivam Gupta, Himmat Singh (C), Vaibhav Rawal, Keshav Dalal (WK), Parth Kumar Bali, Aryan Dalal, Deepak Punia, Rahul Dagar, Pankaj Jaswal, Prince Yadav.

Match Report

After defeating the Outer Delhi Warriors in their last game, the New Delhi Tigers took on the Central Delhi Kings in the fifth game of the ongoing DPL 2025. NDT skipper Himmat won the toss and asked the Kings to bat first. The Tigers’ pacer Pankaj Jaswal drew the first blood by dismissing Siddharth Joon (27) in the fourth over of the innings, when the Kings had scored 33 runs in 3.5 overs. Joon had smashed four fours and a six before falling prey to Jaswal in a ‘clean bowled’ dismissal. Just nine runs later, Prince Yadav got Aditya Bhandari caught by Keshav Dalal (5) in the sixth over. Meanwhile, it was star opener Yash Dhull who held one end strongly and stitched an important partnership of 36 runs for the third wicket with skipper Jonty Sidhu (12). Dhull kept neutralizing the damage of losing wickets by charging against the NDT bowling attack. He ended up playing a decisive and steady knock of 44 runs off 35 balls, hitting five fours and a six. Later in the innings, Jasvir Sehrawat contributed with an unbeaten 21-run knock off 14 balls after Dhull’s departure at the team score of 101 runs in the 13th over. These two crucial contributions helped the Central Delhi Kings post 165/8 in the allotted overs, surviving a fall of wickets in quick succession. The Tigers’ bowling attack was led by Pankaj Jaswal, who picked up three wickets, including the big scalps of Siddharth Joon and Jasvir Sehrawat.

New Delhi Tigers’ opening pair of Dhruv Kaushik and Shivam Gupta started aggressively, scoring 35 runs for the first wicket in just 3.2 overs. The Tigers faced the first blow when Simarjeet Singh ended Gupta’s sluggish knock of 12 runs off 11 balls. However, Kaushik tried to compensate for his mate’s departure with an aggressive approach, taking the score to 56 in 6.1 overs before falling prey to Tejas Baroka in the seventh over. Kaushik’s efforts ended in an individual knock off (30), hitting five fours. Kaushik’s dismissal was a moment when Vaibhav Rawal joined his captain, Himmat Singh, in the middle. The duo added a much-needed 35-run partnership for the third wicket as Singh continued executing his determined approach with sensible stroke-making. Singh lost Rawal’s company when the latter was caught by Joon off Gavnish Khurana’s bowling in the 11th over, after scoring a 19-run knock. Singh continued to be a big unsolved puzzle for the Kings’ bowlers and went on to score an unbeaten half-century (58*), including six fours and two sixes. After Keshav Dalal’s early dismissal following Rawal, Singh was accompanied by Parth Bali, who played an unbeaten and match-winning cameo of 22 runs off 15 balls, smashing a six and three fours with the bat. Singh and Bali’s efforts happened to be big pillars in NDT’s successful run chase as they scored 168/5 in 18.5 overs. With this win, Himmat Singh’s men have moved to the top spot in the tournament standings.

Player of the Match

New Delhi Tigers’ Himmat Singh was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his gritty and unbeaten 58-run knock, which included two game-defining sixes under pressure.

Scorecard