AI Simulation, NDS vs ODW | Kuldip Yadav's nerves of steel ensure Strikers' three-run victory against Warriors

Pitch and Weather

The surface in Delhi was flat and dry, with the dew factor playing a massive role as well. Though there were moments in the game where the pitch assisted the spinners with some grip and turn, the batters enjoyed themselves for the majority of the game.

The conditions were hot and dry, with the temperature at 34 degrees Celsius, with no sign of rain.

Toss 

Outer Delhi Warriors won the toss and elected to bowl first

Lineups

North Delhi Strikers: Sarthak Ranjan, Vaibhav Kandpal, Yajas Sharma, Yash Bhatia, Arnav Bugga, Pranav Rajuvanshi (wk), Arjun Rapria, Harshit Rana (c), Vikas Dixit, Siddhant Bansal, Kuldip Yadav

Outer Delhi Warriors: Priyansh Arya, Sanat Sangwan, Mohit Panwar, Varun Yadav, Shivam Sharma, Dhruv Singh (wk), Siddhant Sharma (c), Keshav Dabas, Harsh Tyagi, Anshuman Hooda, Suyash Sharma

Match Report

The Warriors elected to bowl first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The North Delhi Strikers started with a bang as openers Sarthak Rajan and Vaibhav Kandpal attacked the bowlers straight away. The duo put on 60 runs in the power play without losing a wicket. Though Kandpal was shortly dismissed by a well-disguised wrong-un by Suyash Sharma, Yajas Sharma held things at one end to form another crucial partnership with Rajan. Both batters were looking good at the crease until Harsh Tyagi came into the attack in the eighth over to deceive Rajan with a flighted delivery outside off, which gripped and turned enough to crash into the off stump. Though Rajan was eventually dismissed after a well-made 35 off 24 deliveries, Sharma continued the run-flow with some help from Yash Bhatia, who took the attack to the bowlers with some aggressive strokes in the middle. The Strikers looked comfortable at  93/2 after 10 overs until Tyagi came back in the 12th over to dismiss Sharma, who tried to smash the left-arm spinner straight down the ground, only to be stumped on a score of 44. Despite the minor blow, Bhatia continued to play his shots before getting dismissed for a fiery cameo of 28 by Warriors skipper Siddhant Sharma. The two dismissals put a bit of a break on the scoring with the score 123/4 after 15 overs. However, the Strikers came back in the last five overs, with Pranav Rajuvanshi, along with Arnav Bagga, scoring some crucial runs at the death. The Strikers smashed  59 runs in the last 30 balls to take the score to 182/5 at the end of the innings, with Rajuvanshi remaining unbeaten on a quickfire 30 off just 16 deliveries.

The Warriors might have had a quickfire start with Priyansh Arya and Sanat Sangwan playing some fearless strokes at the start. However, they were the two openers could not continue their innings towards the end of the six overs as Sangwan was dismissed by a nip-backer by Strikers skipper Harshit Rana, which crashed into his off peg, and Arya was dismissed for 24 by a well-directed bouncer by Vikas Dixit, which was top-edged to short square leg. The score at the end of six overs was 46/2 with two new batters at the crease. Despite the early wickets, Mohit Panwar and Varun Yadav rescued the Warriors from a tough position. The runs started flowing, and the Outer Delhi franchise looked in a great nick at the halfway stage with the score at 96/2 after 10 overs. The Strikers needed someone to get them back in the game, and this is where left-arm pacer Kuldip Yadav came to the rescue with a couple of big scalps. The 28-year-old paceman dismissed Yadav with a well-executed toe-crushing yorker in the 12th over and came back in the 14th to dismiss Shivam Sharma. The match was suddenly evenly poised with the score at 125/4 after 15 overs, with Warriors needing 58 off 30 deliveries. While it seemed like the North Delhi franchise had finally gained complete control in the game, another match-altering moment came as Dhruv Singh came to support Panwar with some fearless strokes at the backend to keep the game alive. However, the tables suddenly turned in the 17th over of the game as Kuldip managed to dismiss Panwar for 47 as he was caught at deep extra cover while attempting a lofted cover drive. As wickets continued to tumble at the other end, Singh still tried to take the game as deep as possible before getting dismissed by Rana in the 19th over as he skied the ball only to be caught at long off. Kuldip was entrusted with the last over with 13 runs to defend. Though the over started with a boundary by Keshav Dabas, he was run out in the next delivery at the non-strikers' end thanks to a rocket throw by Bagga. With 10 runs needed off the last three deliveries, Tyagi might have kept the hopes alive with six over cows corner, but the left-arm quick kept his nerves and bowled two amazing wide yorkers to ensure the Strikers won the game by three runs.

Player of the match

Kuldip Yadav was the player of the match for his crucial spell of 3/33 in a game which down to the wire.

Scorecard