AI Simulation, WDL vs SDS | Rana leads from front as Lions beat Superstarz by five wickets in Eliminator

Pitch and Weather

It was a typical Kotla track, with low bounce, a touch dry, and slowed down as the game progressed. Spinners enjoyed a good grip. However, the surface favoured the chasing side.

It was a hot evening in Delhi, with the temperature hovering around 33 degrees Celsius, with no threat of rain. The dew factor also came into play as the game progressed to the second innings.

Toss

East Delhi Riders won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

WDL XI: Ankit Kumar, Krish Yadav(w), Ayush Doseja, Nitish Rana(c), Mayank Gusain, Hrithik Shokeen, Ravneet Tanwar, Manan Bhardwaj, Shivank Vashisht, Anirudh Chowdhary, Shubham Dubey.

SDS XI: Kunwar Bidhuri, Anmol Sharma, Tejasvi Dahiya(w/c), Vision Panchal, Sumit Kumar Beniwal, Manish Sehrawat, Sumit Mathur, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Abhishek Khandelwal, Aman Bharti, Divansh Rawat.

Match Report

The South Delhi Superstarz won the toss and decided to bat first. The opening pair of Kunwar Bidhuri and Anmol Sharma could add only 26 runs for the first wicket in 4 overs. This partnership ended when Krish Yadav caught Bidhuri (18) off Anirudh Chowdhary on the last ball of the fourth over. After another partnership of 26 runs for the second wicket between Anmol Sharma and skipper Tejasvi Dahiya, the former was dismissed at the individual score of 24 runs off 17 balls, with four fours in the seventh over. Then came a vital partnership of 50 runs for the third wicket between Dahiya and Vision Panchal (28 runs off just 15 balls). Panchal smashed two fours and two sixes before getting caught at deep midwicket by Dubey off Vashisht. Dahiya went on to score 46 runs off 36 balls, with five fours and a six, followed by the contributions of Sumit Beniwal (12) and Sumit Mathur (14). These knocks helped the Superstarz post 164/8. Anirudh Chowdhary bowled brilliantly for the Lions as he scalped 3 wickets for 29 runs in his four overs, accompanied by Hrithik Shokeen (2/28 in four overs).

While chasing the target, the Lions' opening pair, Ankit Kumar and Krish Yadav, made a quick start, scoring 31 runs in 3.5 overs. Divansh Rawat broke this partnership on the fifth ball of the fourth over by dismissing Ankit at the individual score of 21 runs off 16 balls. Yadav also returned to the pavilion just 1.5 overs later, scoring 17 (12), with two fours and a six. It took the Lions’ score to 49/2 in 5.4 overs before Ayush Doseja and skipper Nitish Rana stitched a game-changing partnership of 45 runs for the third wicket. Doseja scored 29 (20), smashing four fours and a six to accompany his leader. On the other hand, Nitish Rana stood there strongly to add two more crucial partnerships with Mayank Gusain (20*), and Ravneet Tanwar (11*). Before getting dismissed on the last ball of the 16th over, Rana scored a match-winning half-century, hitting 57 runs in 37 balls, with fours and three sixes. On the back of these batting performances, WDL scored 167/5 in 18.4 overs to win the game by five wickets, with eight balls to spare.

Player of the Match

West Delhi Lions’ Nitish Rana was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-defining knock of 57 runs to help his team successfully chase the target in 18.4 overs and qualify for the second qualifier of the ongoing DPL 2025.

Scorecard