On Friday, Delhi won their first Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by beating Rajasthan by 41 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Delhi’s Unmukt Chand hit a brilliant half-century to take his team to 153/6 in 20 overs. Then a superb all around by the Delhi bowlers, who bowled Rajasthan out for 112.

Chand, playing his second match of the tournament, smashed a crucial 53 after in-form Rishabh Pant (13) and veteran Gautam Gambhir (27) got out cheaply. Openers Gambhir and Pant gave the team a brisk start. However, the duo were back in the dressing room soon with Delhi on 41/2.

It was then Chand and Dhruv Shorey who stitched a 48-run partnership to take Delhi to 153/6. Rajasthan missed their ace pacer Deepak Chahar who’s missed the final with a hamstring injury.

Rajasthan were off to a flier as opener Aditya Garhwal smashed 52 in just 36 balls. However, he was the only batsmen to leave a mark on the game as the rest of the team was bowled out for 112. Seven batsmen were out on single digit scores.

Delhi Left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan bowled a tidy spell of 2/14, while Kulwant Khejoriya took 2/24 as well. Pawan Negi also chipped in with two wickets. Nitish Rana, Lalit Yadav, Milind Kumar and Suboth Bhati also took one wicket each in a strong display by the bowlers. It was an easy win for Delhi in the end.

Brief Scores: Delhi 153/6 in 20 overs (Unmukt Chand 53; Khaleel Ahmed 2/23) beat Rajasthan 112 all out (Aditya Garhwal 52; Pradeep Sangwan 2/14, Pawan Negi 2/21, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/24) by 41 runs.