Delhi’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Run Ends In Semis

Delhi lost the semi-final of national T20 championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to eventual champions Punjab by six wickets despite strong batting performance by Ayush Badoni (80 off 57 balls).

Thanks to the innings by Badoni, the Sonnet Club batsman, Delhi racked up 183/7 in 20 overs in the last-four encounter last weekend in Chandigarh.

But the total did not prove enough as left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma’s 77 off 45 balls and veteran batsman Mandeep Singh’s 63 not out off 36 balls took Punjab to 184/4 in 18.4 overs.

Pacer Mayank Yadav (2/28) and leg-spinner Suyash Sharma (2/38) were the only Delhi bowlers among wickets.

Despite the loss, the Delhi team impressed in the tournament, finishing on top of the Group E and qualifying directly for the quarter-finals.

Barring the first game against Uttar Pradesh, which was abandoned due to rain, Delhi registered wins in the remaining five pool matches as well as the quarter-final against Vidarbha before going down to Punjab in the semi-final encounters. All of Delhi’s wins were convincing.

Opener Priyansh Arya was Delhi’s top-scorer in the tournament with 222 runs at an average of 31.71 whereas Ayush Badoni (210 at an average of 210), skipper Yash Dhull (209 at an average of 41.8) and Anuj Rawat (206 at an average of 29.42) also got over 200 runs.

Leg-spinner Suyash Sharma was Delhi’s top wicket-taker with 18 scalps, at an average of 7.22, followed by off-spinner Lalit Yadav, with 11 wickets.

Sharma also ended as the joint second highest wicket-taker of the tournament along with Baroda medium-pacer Atit Sheth and behind Hyderabad’s T Ravi Teja.