New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS): Pratika Rawal's 41 off 38 and a disciplined bowling performance led East Delhi Riders Women to an 11-run win over South Delhi Superstarz Women in the opening match of the inaugural edition of the Adani Women's Delhi Premier League T20 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Pratika Rawal and Saachi's 50-run partnership stand helped South East Delhi Riders Women to post 114/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Madhu and Saachi then picked two wickets each to restrict South Delhi Superstarz to 103/6 in their 20 overs to win the match by 11 runs.
Chasing the target of 115 runs, South Delhi Superstarz Women faced an early setback with Nishika Singh (6) losing her wicket in the second over. South Delhi Superstarz Women were able to put only 29 runs on the board by the end of the powerplay.
Tanisha Singh (13) and Shweta Sehrawat (25) built a partnership of 30 runs, but both were dismissed in quick succession by Saachi. Nidhi Mahto (1) was the next one to follow as South Delhi Superstarz Women were reduced to 61/4 after 13 overs. While Ekta Bhadana (5) fell cheaply in the 17th over, Riya Soni showcased urgency as she reduced the equation to 31 needed in 18 balls with her timely boundaries.
Kashish Sethi bowled a tight penultimate over, giving away just four runs as South Delhi Superstarz needed 22 runs to win off the last over. Madhu then scalped Soni's (32) wicket in the last over, ensuring East Delhi Riders open their campaign with a clinical win.
Earlier in the day, the East Delhi elected to bat first. They also got off to a slow start, with skipper Priya Punia getting dismissed in the fifth over after scoring 12. Her partner Rawal then combined with Saachi to build a partnership of 50 runs off 49 balls, taking the side to 79/1 after 13 overs.
Tanisha Singh struck twice in the 14th over, removing Saachi (20) and Pragya Rawat (0). Rawal followed in the next over, with the East Delhi reduced to 80/4 after 15 overs.
South Delhi Superstarz continued to take timely wickets as they restricted East Delhi to 114/8 in their 20 overs. Medhavi Bidhuri took three wickets, while Anshu and Tanisha Singh each claimed two for the South Delhi Superstarz.
Brief scores:
East Delhi Riders Women 114/8 in 20 overs (Pratika Rawal 41, Saachi 20; Medhavi Bidhuri 3-20) beat South Delhi Superstarz Women 103/6 in 20 overs (Riya Soni 32, Shweta Sehrawat 25; Madhu 2-19) by 11 runs.