New Delhi, August 6: North Delhi Strikers delivered a commanding all-round performance to register a comfortable six-wicket victory over East Delhi Riders in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
“It was a great feeling to get my first win as captain,” said Captain Sarthak Ranjan. After losing two early wickets, he said the team’s focus was to make a good partnership and not fall behind in the powerplay. “Yash Bhatia’s attacking strokeplay, helped relieve the pressure. And the way we batted together in the last game gave us confidence,” Ranjan said. “They kept their patience and built the innings, and expected there would be a big over at some stage, but didn’t expect it to be as decisive as it was,” he said.
Ranjan also caught everyone’s attention with his celebration after reaching his half-century. Speaking about it, he said, “I’m a huge fan of Novak Djokovic, so the celebration was just a tribute to him. I’ve seen him do it after his victories, and I wanted to celebrate in a similar way.”
Earlier, East Delhi Riders posted 171/6 in their 20 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 82 off 50 balls from Sujal Singh. The left-hander anchored the innings brilliantly, striking six fours and four sixes, while wickets kept falling at the other end. For North Delhi Strikers, Vikas Dixit was the standout bowler with impressive figures of 1/19 from his four overs.
Chasing 172, North Delhi Strikers found themselves in early trouble at 39/2. However, Ranjan and Yash Bhatia stitched together a match-winning 113-run partnership for the third wicket to put the chase back on track.
Ranjan led from the front with a sensational 95 off just 50 balls, smashing eight sixes and seven fours. He also took 29 runs off a single over from Simarjeet Singh to swing the match firmly in the Strikers’ favour before falling just five runs short of a deserved century.
At the other end, Yash Bhatia continued his excellent form with an unbeaten half-century, guiding North Delhi Strikers to victory with four overs to spare.
