South Delhi Superstarz Women clinched their first victory in the Adani Women’s Delhi Premier League T20, defeating North Delhi Strikers Women by 12 runs in a thrilling contest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Despite a fighting 62 off 51 balls from Ayushi Soni and a rapid 31 off 14 from Nazma Sultana, the North Delhi Strikers fell short in their pursuit of 148.
South Delhi set a competitive target of 147/5, thanks to a late surge from R Priyadarshini (31* off 23) and Ekta Bhadana (16* off 6). Earlier, openers Chhavi Gupta (32 off 34) and Shweta Sehrawat (10 off 10) gave South Delhi a solid start with a 36-run stand in the powerplay. After Sehrawat’s dismissal by Nazma Sultana in the sixth over, Chhavi Gupta held the innings together until she fell to Riti Tomar in the ninth over, leaving the team at 52/2.
Tanisha Singh (29 off 33) played a key role in stabilizing the innings during the middle overs, partnering with Priyadarshini to add 36 runs in 28 balls. Although Tanisha was dismissed in the 18th over, Priyadarshini and Bhadana’s late hitting propelled South Delhi to a strong finish.
In response, North Delhi Strikers faced early setbacks, losing openers Upasana Yadav (13 off 13) and Mansi Sharma (9 off 16) to find themselves struggling at 25/2 in 5.3 overs. Ayushi Soni and Sonia Khatri (5 off 11) managed a 28-run stand but Khatri was run out, leaving North Delhi at 53/3 after 11.3 overs.
Nazma Sultana’s explosive 31 off 14 reignited the chase, but her dismissal in the 16th over by Ekta Bhadana put the Strikers on the back foot again. Despite Soni’s determined 50 off 44 balls, North Delhi needed 18 runs from the final over. Aarti Kumar sealed the win for South Delhi by dismissing both Monika Kumari (5 off 7) and Ayushi Soni in the final over, with Riti Tomar being run out as North Delhi finished on 135/7, falling just short of the target.
Brief scores:
South Delhi Superstarz Women won by 12 runs
South Delhi Superstarz Women 147/5 in 20 overs (Chhavi Gupta 32 off 34, Tanisha Singh 29 off 33, R Priyadarshini 31* off 23, Soni Yadav 1/15, Antara Sharma 1/24, Nazma Sultana 1/14)
North Delhi Strikers Women 135/7 in 20 overs (Ayushi Soni 62 runs off 51 balls, Nazma Sultana 31 runs off 14 balls, Aarti Kumari 2/29)