Delhi enter semi-finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Delhi defeated Vidarbha by 39 runs to qualify for the semi-finals of the national T20 tournament for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Chandigarh.

Wicket-keeper Anuj Rawat (68 off 53 balls), opening the innings, and skipper Yash Dhull (43 off 29 balls) added 105 runs for the second wicket to help take Delhi to 176/6 in 20 overs.  Opener Priyansh Arya had made a quickfire 21 (11 balls) before being dismissed.

Ayush Badoni scored 28 off 17 deliveries to provide the late surge. India pace bowler Umesh Yadav picked four wickets for 30 runs for Vidarbha.

In reply, Vidarbha were restricted to just 137/9 in 20 overs with only Shubham Dubey (44 not out) making any contribution of note.

Delhi skipper Dhull used as many as seven bowlers against the Vidarbha batsmen and each one of the bowlers returned with a wicket.

While medium-pacer Mayank Yadav and off-spinner Lalit Yadav took two wickets each, pace bowlers Pradeep Sangwan and Navdeep Saini, leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, left-arm spinner Shivank Vashisht and part-time off-break bowler Ayush Badoni took a wicket apiece.

Rawat was declared Player of the Match.

Delhi now face Punjab, who defeated Uttar Pradesh by five wickets in their quarter-final, in the semi-final on Saturday morning.

In the other semi-final, also to be played at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Saturday, Assam will face Baroda.

Brief scores: Delhi 176/6 in 20 overs (Anuj Rawat 68, Yash Dhull 43, Umesh Yadav 4/30) beat Vidarbha 137/9 in 20 overs (Shubham Dubey 44 not out, Atharva Taide 29, Mayank Yadav 2/25, Lalit Yadav 2/16).