In first use of Impact player rule, Delhi defeated Manipur by 71 runs by replacing Hiten Dalal with Hrithik Shokeen, who in turn took two wickets in his 3-over spell.
Opener Hiten Dalal smashed a 27-ball 47 to push Delhi to 167 for seven. The Nitish Rana-led squad then decided to replace Dalal with off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen. Impact Player rule allows a team to make a tactical substitution in the middle of the game.
Shokeen had made his IPL debut with Mumbai Indians earlier this year Making his senior T20 debut after making a mark as a first-class cricketer, India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Yash Dhull struck 24 off 23 balls, including a six and four. Ayush Badoni, who grabbed the eyeballs while playing for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, came up with an important 15-ball 20. Himmat Singh provided the late flourish with a seven-ball 25 that included six boundaries.
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Delhi boasts a potent pace attack in the presence of 100-Test veteran Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini but debutant medium pacer Mayank Yadav's two for 23 in four overs stood out. Ishant, who is eyeing a national comeback via a successful domestic season, picked up the wicket of Manipur opener Nitesh Sedai to end with figures of 1 for 17 in three overs.
Delhi, who failed to make the knockouts across the three formats in the last domestic season, is aiming for a turnaround under new management led by captain Rana and head coach Abhay Sharma. They await tougher battles in Group B which also has the likes of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
As far as other Group B matches are concerned, Tripura beat Goa by 5 wickets and UP defeated Puducherry by ten wickets.
