Chattisgarh Warriors defeated Delhi Royals by five wickets in the opening game of the Legends 90 League. In a thrilling encounter at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, Delhi was asked to bat first but their openers failed to deliver. Captain Shikhar Dhawan failed to live up to his potential, scoring six runs, while his opening partner Sharad Lamba registered a golden duck.
The Royals however bounced back following the initial setback as batting at number three, Danushka Gunathilaka played a blistering knock. He hit 73 runs off 33 deliveries to bring the team back into the contest. Angelo Perera supported him well, with a well made 27 runs off 14 deliveries and after he departed, Ross Taylor took over the responsibility, smashing 39 runs off 24. Courtesy of their effort, Delhi posted 172 runs on the board in the first innings. For Chattisgarh, Kalim Khan and Siddharth Kaul picked up two wickets each.
When it comes to the second innings, the hosts fought back after openers Martin Guptill and Vishal Kushwah failed to deliver. However, the third-wicket partnership between skipper Gurkeerat Singh Mann and Pawan Negi made the difference. The duo stitched a partnership of 106 runs and that set the tone for Chattisgarh.
After Negi and Gurkeerat departed scoring 51 and 64 respectively, the pressure was once again back on the home team but Abhimanyu Mithun played a scintillating cameo of 21 runs off six deliveries to win the game for his team. Interestingly, 15 runs were required in the final over but the hosts did it with two balls remaining. Mithun smacked a six and a four to get the job done.
Meanwhile, the win will boost their confidence, especially as their star batter and captain Suresh Raina missed the game. They will play Dubai Giants in their upcoming game on February 8.
