The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is turning out to be a record-breaking T20 tournament all around. On Friday, Delhi captain Ayush Badoni used 11 different bowling options against Manipur, hence marking the first time in a T20 match where more than nine bowlers were employed by the skipper. Earlier, even India had used 11 bowlers during a Test match in 2002 against West Indies and it had happened during the leadership of Sourav Ganguly.
In the match against Manipur, Delhi restricted their opponents to 120/8 in the allotted twenty overs. For Delhi, Harsh Tyagi and Digvesh Rathi returned with two wickets each.
However, former India pacer Dodda Ganesh slammed Delhi for employing more than 9 bowlers in the T20 match against Manipur. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “This is mockery of professional cricket. There was no need for Delhi to do that. It just goes to show the quality of the plate teams.”
For Delhi, even wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat bowled one over, conceding 14 runs. At one stage, Manipur were reeling at 41/6 after opting to bat first.
It was Rex Singh (23) and wicketkeeper Shah (32) that put on 52 runs for the seventh wicket and as a result, Manipur were able to score 120 in the allotted twenty overs.
Mayank Rawat was the most expensive Delhi bowler as he gave away 31 runs in his three overs.
Delhi seal a win
In reply, Delhi ended up winning the contest by four wickets, owing to an unbeaten knock of 59 by Yash Dhull. At point, Delhi were left reeling at 44/4, but Dhull held one end, ensuring that Delhi doesn’t lose their grip on the match. He first put on 40 runs with Mayank Rawat and he then forged a 41-run partnership with Aryan Rana to see Delhi over the line in 18.3 overs.
Delhi are so far unbeaten in the tournament as they previously outclassed Uttar Pradesh by 47 runs, Jammu and Kashmir by 35 runs and Haryana by six wickets in their previous encounters.
Delhi will next square off against Himachal Pradesh at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy, BKC, Mumbai on Sunday, December 1.
Delhi are currently at the top of Group C with 16 points from 4 matches. The side have a net run-rate of +1.765.
