Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: Ishant Sharma Shines as Delhi Beat Andhra Pradesh to Register Second Straight Win of Season

Delhi continued their excellent form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and won their second consecutive match as they beat Andhra Pradesh by six wickets in an Elite Group E game at Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

It was a comprehensive performance from Delhi players as they outclassed Andhra Pradesh in both batting and bowling.

Delhi captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and opted to bowl first, as Andhra top-order failed miserably and they lost four wickets for just 36. Captain Rayudu departed for just 1 while domestic cricket stars KS Bharat (8) and Ricky Bhuvi (0) also failed to impressed anyone.

Ashwin Hebber was the highest run-scorer for Andhra with a 32-run knock.

Delhi chased the target with three overs to spare even as skipper and India opener Shikhar Dhawan (5) fell cheaply.

Pradeep Sangwan was the picks of the bowlers as he claimed three wickets while he was a bit expensive and leaked 33 runs. Senior India paceman Ishant Sharma (2/17), right-arm pacer Simarjeet Singh (2/21) and off-spinner Lalit Yadav (2/22) played their roles to perfection.

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For Delhi, the chase wasn't exactly a walk in the park as they were reduced to 10 for two. Captain Dhawan failed to put up a big score in the moderate chase and departed for just 5. But Nitish Rana (27) and Anuj Rawat (33) shared 52-runs for the third wicket to bring them back into the game.

After the two departed, Himmat Singh (32 not out) and Lalit Yadav (20 not out) ensured that there were no further hiccups as they forged an unbeaten 40-run fifth-wicket stand to take their side home.

Delhi had defeated Mumbai in their opening game.

Brief Scores:

Andhra Pradesh 124/9 (Ashwin Hebbar 32; Pradeep Sangwan 3/33, Ishant Sharma 2/17, Simarjeet Singh 2/21) lost to Delhi 128/4 (Anuj Rawat 33; Himmat Singh 32 not out; M Harishankar Reddy 2/40) by six wickets.

Pondicherry 148/4 (Sheldon Jackson 82, Paras Dogra 32; Arun Chaprana 2/19) lost to Haryana 149/4 (Himanshu Rana 58, Shivam Chauhan 45; Pankaj Singh 2/31) by 6 wickets.