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Nitish Rana leads from front, West Delhi crowned DDCA's DPL champs
The seasoned batter’s 49-ball 79* took the Lions to a 6-wicket win over Central Delhi Kings in the final
New Delhi: All eyes were on Nitish Rana on the night of the final at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. It was a bit of a homecoming for him this season, after all. West Delhi Lions defeated Central Delhi Kings by six wickets to be crowned champions as a successful second season of DPL came to an end in the presence of over 10,000 spectators.
“It’s a project of the entire association – it’s every administrator, every cricketer, every member of the apex council. The project is as important to the administrator and the player because it’s a platform where they can perform,” said Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president Rohan Jaitley.
In attendance at the final were also former India and Delhi cricket stars Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag.
Jaitley added: “It’s a concerted effort of everyone. The players’ commitment, the administration, franchises, my colleagues on the board of the association, and most importantly, the spectators. It’s been a good season and it’s a good match. We’ll have an even better season three next year.”
Rana returned to Delhi after two of years in Uttar Pradesh, making it his first season at the Delhi Premier League. It helped that in true Delhi fashion, tempers had flared in his previous outing as the West Delhi Lions captain exchanged words with Delhi Superstarz spinner Digvesh Rathi.
Chasing 174, Rana was at his aggressive best as he scored a fluid 79 off 49 – comprising seven sixes and four boundaries. Simarjeet Singh (2/35), the most expensive buy of the season, gave Kings just the start they needed, picking up two wickets upfront. With openers Krish Yadav and Ayush Doseja back in the dugout early, Rana combined with Ankit Kumar until the latter was dismissed for 20.
Arun Pundir (1/21) also struck with Kumar departing before the Powerplay. Rana however soldiered on with Mayank Gusain (15) and then with Hrithik Shokeen (42*) to anchor the innings. Rana and Shokeen stitched a match-winning 85-run partnership to take the team across the line with two overs two spare. Tejas Baroka also picked up 1/21 for Kings.
In the backdrop of Rajasthan Royals looking for a major overhaul ahead of next year’s Indian Premier League, Rana’s performance, leadership and experience is likely to instill some confidence in his spot in the squad. While it was comeback for Rana, it was also one for West Delhi Lions as a team, finishing as champions after ending up with the wooden spoon in the inaugural season.
Earlier, asked to bat first, Central Delhi’s Yugal Saini (65) played the starring role in ensuring a decent total. Even as wickets kept falling on the other end, Saini’s innings helped them stay in the game. Pranshu Vijayan played an innings to remember, scoring an unbeaten 50 off 24 to take Kings to 173/7. However, they will be gutted to end on the losing side.
