Centurions Anuj Rawat and Sujal Singh recorded the second-highest opening partnership in T20s as East Delhi Riders beat Purani Dilli 6 by 26 runs in the ongoing Adani Delhi Premier League T20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Thursday.

Chasing the target of 242, Purani Dilli 6 opened the innings with captain Arpit Rana and Sanat Sangwan. The team didn’t get the start it wished for as Sanat was dismissed by Mayank Rawat for seven runs. Keshav Dalal was the next batsman to be dismissed as Mayank Rawat scalped his second wicket.

Lalit Yadav was next to go as Harsh Tyagi dismissed him for a duck. The team was struggling at 34/3 in 5.3 overs. At the end of the powerplay, the team was 40/3. With wickets falling at regular intervals, Aprit Rana and Vansh Bedi had a 98-run partnership in 47 balls for the fourth wicket.

Arpit Rana was then dismissed by Harsh Tyagi for 27 runs off 28 balls. With Vansh Bedi hitting the ball and finding boundaries from the other end, Purani Dilli 6 was still in the game. However, with run rate scaling, Vansh Bedi started taking risks but was dismissed for a brilliant 96 off 41 balls. Towards the end of the innings, Arnav Bugga contributed with 28 runs as Purani Dilli 6 could only manage 215/8 in their allotted overs.

Earlier in the contest, after Purani Dilli 6 won the toss and opted to bowl first, East Delhi Riders took full advantage of the decision. Anuj Rawat and Sujal Singh walked out with great intent, aiming to make the most of the Power-play. The opening pair was aggressive from the outset, playing some exquisite shots all around the ground.

With Anuj and Sujal playing fine shots and finding the boundaries regularly, the team reached 50/0 at the end of the powerplay. Sujal reached his half-century in 31 balls. His innings included four boundaries and five sixes, while Anuj Rawat reached his half-century in 38 balls. His innings included three boundaries and four sixes.

East Delhi Riders reached 100/0 in 10.3 overs. The duo was looking in sublime form as they were finding boundaries with ease. They combined solid technique with aggressive shot-making, regularly finding the gaps and clearing the boundaries. The opposition bowlers were left searching for answers as Anuj and Sujal made batting look easy. The duo had a 200-run stand for the opening wicket in 18 overs.

Anuj Rawat raced to his century in just 59 balls, while Sujal Singh also reached his century in 55 balls. The explosive batting by Anuj and Sujal helped the East Delhi Riders post a mammoth total of 241/0 in their allotted 20 overs.

Brief scores:

East Delhi Riders 241 for no loss in 20 overs (Anuj Rawat 121 not out, Sujal Singh 108 not out) beat Purani Dilli 6 215/8 in 20 overs (Vansh Bedi 96, Arnav Bugga 28; Harsh Tyagi 3-34) by 26 runs.