Mushtaq Ali Trophy | Delhi pacers call the shots against Andhra

Dhawan’s boys coast to a comprehensive victory with three overs to spare

Delhi ran through the opposition batting line-up without any fuss to set up its second convincing win in as many outings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Wednesday.

Thanks to its pacers sharing seven wickets between them, Delhi outclassed Andhra by six wickets with three overs to spare at the Wankhede Stadium to top the Group E standings with a healthy net run rate.

Faith justified

If Monday saw Delhi strangulate Mumbai’s top-order while defending a gargantuan total, on Wednesday, the pacers justified captain Dhawan’s faith in them after chose to field first.

Veteran Ishant Sharma (two for 17), promising talent Simarjeet Singh (two for 21) and seasoned Pradeep Sangwan (three for 33) wreaked havoc in the Andhra top-order.

The Delhi pacers accounted for three batsmen on whom Andhra’s batting relies on, leaving it reeling at 15 for three.

While Simrajeet induced at edge off K.S. Bharat in the second over, Ishant cleaned up Ricky Bhui for a blob in the next over. Simrajeet then had the prize scalp of captain Ambati Rayudu an over later over.

Too big a damage

The damage was too much to handle as Andhra crawled to 35 for three at the half-way stage.

Thanks to a late charge by K.V. Sasikanth and Shoaib Mohammed Khan, Andhra managed to finish at 124 for nine.

A target of 125 was never going to be challenging for Delhi. Despite Harishankar Reddy dismissing openers Shikhar Dhawan and Hiten Dalal in the second over, Nitish Rana and Anuj Rawat steadied the ship with a 52-run partnership before Himmat Singh and allrounder Lalit Yadav finished the job.

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