Delhi Royals registered their third victory in the Legend 90 League with a commanding six-wicket win over Dubai Giants in the 14th match of the tournament at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
The match saw Bipul Sharma deliver a standout performance, leading his team to an emphatic win while also etching his name in the tournament's history books with the first-ever five-wicket haul. Chasing a modest target of 98 runs, the Royals completed the task in just nine overs, finishing at 99/4. Leading the side in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Bipul Sharma rose to the occasion with a sensational 5/21 spell, dismantling the Giants' batting lineup. After a steady start, Dubai Giants crumbled under pressure, slumping from 40/1 to 97/9 in their allotted 15 overs. Praveen Gupta contributed with two wickets, while Parvinder Awana added one to complete the Royals' dominant bowling effort. With a below-par target on the board, the Royals made light work of the chase. Punit Bisht led the charge with a brisk 32 off 15 balls, while Angelo Perera top-scored with a quickfire 39 off 22 deliveries. Anureet Singh finished things off in style, smashing two sixes to seal the victory with six wickets and six overs to spare. Speaking after the game, Bipul Sharma credited his experience and game awareness for his outstanding bowling performance. "For the last four matches, I have been observing how Dhawan leads the team, and I tried to implement the same. The pitch was good, and I focused on varying my deliveries in the air. I was closely watching how the batters were shaping up for shots and adjusted my bowling accordingly, which worked in my favor," Bipul Sharma was quoted in a release from Legend 90 League as saying. With this win, Delhi Royals have climbed to the second spot on the points table, securing three wins in five matches. When asked about playoff calculations, Bipul Sharma remained focused on playing one game at a time. "We are not thinking too much ahead. Our goal is to play our natural game and take things as they come. If required, we will look at the net run rate in the later stages, but for now, we are just focusing on the upcoming matches," Bipul signed off. (ANI)
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