Rishabh Pant Surprises Fans with Leg-Spin Bowling in Delhi Premier League T20 Opener - Watch Video Now!

New Delhi: A surprising moment unfolded during the opening match of the inaugural Delhi Premier League T20 between Purani Dilli 6 and South Delhi Superstarz at the Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium. Rishabh Pant, the captain of South Delhi Superstarz, was seen showcasing his bowling skills for the first time in a cricket match. In a nail-biting final over, with South Delhi Superstarz needing just one run to win, Pant took the bold decision to bowl leg spin against Digvesh Rathi, leaving the crowd in awe. It was truly a rare sight to see Pant rolling his arms and adding a new dimension to his game.

Rathi guided the ball to long-on to steal a run and secure victory for his team. Earlier, remarkable fifties from skipper Ayush Badoni and Priyansh Arya led the South Delhi Superstarz to a three-wicket victory over Purani Dilli 6. Arpit Rana’s 59 off 41 and Vansh Bedi’s 47 off 19 helped Purani Dilli 6 put up 197/3 in 20 overs, before South Delhi Superstarz chased down the target in 19.1 overs.

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South Delhi Superstarz began their run chase of 198 runs at a blistering pace. They smashed as many as 73 runs in the Powerplay, thanks to the free-flowing strokes from opener Priyansh Arya and Sarthak Ray. Ray, who hammered 41 off 26 balls, was caught and bowled by Shivam Sharma in the seventh over, while Arya reached his fifty off 27 balls in the 12th over.

In the same over, skipper Ayush Badoni, who had started his innings cautiously, struck four consecutive sixes off Ankit Bhadana, taking the team’s total to 140/1. Arya was caught by Arpit Rana off Sharma in the following over after scoring 57 runs off 30 balls, including three fours and four sixes.

Dhruv Singh (1 off 2) then fell cheaply to Prince Yadav, while Badoni reached his half-century off 25 balls in the 14th over, reducing the equation to 38 runs needed off 36 balls. However, the momentum shifted dramatically as Purani Dilli 6 claimed four wickets in quick succession.

Badoni (57 off 29) and Tejasvi (0 off 1) were dismissed in the 15th over, Kunwar Bidhuri (5 off 7) in the 17th over, and Sumit Mathur (9 off 10) fell in the 18th over, leaving South Delhi needing 13 runs off the last two overs. Vision Panchal and Digvesh Rathi then displayed some resilience as they chased down the target with five balls to spare.