The action continues today with a double header with the South Delhi Superstarz going against East Delhi Riders and the West Delhi Lions locking horns with the New Delhi Tigers
Published: August 1, 2026, 12:51 PM IST
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Keshav Dabas penalized after Central Delhi Kings edge Purani Dilli 6 in thriller (Credit: Central Delhi Kings/Instagram)
The Delhi Premier League kicked off yesterday with a spectacular high-scoring contest between Purani Dilli 6 and Central Delhi Kings here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New DelhiThe opening ceremony was held right before the action unfolded with popular Punjabi artists Sukhbir Singh and Sunanda Sharma headlining the event.
Once the opening ceremony came to an end, the players got on to the field to showcase their talent in the tournament opener which was a 400+ run thrillerThe contest also saw the 3rd season’s first century being scored by Purani Dilli 6 captain Anuj Rawat, whose triple figures eventually went in vain as the Central Delhi Kings won by 4 wickets in a nail-biter.
Money-Worth Opening Ceremony! 🤯🔥
The Delhi Premier League (DPL) opening ceremony was packed with so many guests and performers that fans truly got their money’s worth.
– Artists: Sunanda & Kotla
– Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
– Virender Sehwag
– BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla
-… pic.twitter.com/Ohgwn3MbYW— Jara (@JARA_Memer) August 1, 2026
After losing the toss and batting first, Purani Dilli 6 got off to the worst possible start as they slipped to 30/3 within the first five oversThe top-order, featuring Rohan Rana, Samarth Seth and Aryan Gaur, got out for scores of 10, 7 and 4 respectively with Divij Mehra, Kuldip Yadav and Money Grewal getting those wickets.
However, Purani Dilli 6 captain Anuj Rawat and Dev Lakra steadied the ship with their outstanding 132-run partnership for the fourth wicketBoth the batters looked determined to prevail their team from the early slump and they did so perfectly.
While Dev Lakra played supporting role very well with a composed 53 off 37 balls, Anuj Rawat led the charge with a sensational century that helped Purani Dilli secure a 200+ targetRawat smashed an unbeaten 105 off just 59 deliveries with 11 fours and five sixes at a strike rate of over 177.
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The left-hander, who is an Indian Premier League winner with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, got to his century in dramatic fashion after being dropped on 99He then completed his ton on the very next ball.
Rawat and Lakra’s 132-run partnership eventually helped Purani Dilli 6 score 202/4.
In response, the Central Delhi Kings got off to a flyer as openers Yash Dhull and Siddharth Joon took full advantage of the powerplayThe captain and wicket-keeper duo added 60+ runs in just 5 overs and at one point of time, they looked absolutely unstoppable.
However, the breakthrough arrived in the last ball of the 5th over when Rajneesh Dadar dismissed Joon for 23 off 14 balls.
After Joon’s dismissal, captain Yash Dhull continued to decimate the Purani Dilli bowlers as he stood for another 32-run stand with Yugal Saini, who was unfortunate to get run out for 22 off 16 ballsThe Kings lost another wicket soon as Jonty Sidhu departed for a duck but Dhull’s timely half-century kept his side on the chase.
However, right after hitting the 70-run mark, Yash Dhull was shown the exit door when Pankaj Jaswal took him by surprise with a short delivery with the Central Delhi captain getting out for 72 off 45.
Number 6 batter Vansh Bedi then added a quickfire 28 off 13 balls but his dismissal in the 17th over left the Kings stranded at 177/6They desperately needed a strong finish and that arrived in the form of Jasvir Sehrawat and Keshav Dabas’ 7th wicket stand.
The duo showcased their tremendous power hitting abilities as Central Delhi Kings got to the target within 19.1 oversWhile Jasvir scored 10 off 8, Keshav smashed 17 off just 9Despite scoring a century in the season 3 opener, Anuj Rawat could not grab the player of the match award as Yash Dhull walked away with the honour for his 72 runs.
The action continues today with a double header with the South Delhi Superstarz going against East Delhi Riders and the West Delhi Lions locking horns with the New Delhi Tigers.
