AI Simulation, EDR vs PD6 | Anuj Rawat’s captaincy knock and Saini’s match-winning spell seal game for Riders against Purani Delhi

ByUmesh Sharma,SportsCafe Editor

08/18/2025

As per Artificial Intelligence, East Delhi Rides will move to the top spot in the DPL 2025 points table with a thrilling five-run win against Purani Delhi 6. Anuj Rawat’s brilliant half-century (61), followed by Navdeep Saini’s match-defining spell (3/32), will help the Riders beat Purani Delhi 6.

Pitch and Weather

The surface at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was quite hard with a touch of grass but slowed down as the game progressed to the second innings. The ball came brilliantly in the first innings, but there was a good help for the spinners in the second innings.

The weather in Delhi was quite cloudy and humid, with the temperature hovering around 32 degrees. The conditions helped spinners in the second innings, which also became a problem for the chasing side.

Toss

East Delhi Riders won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

EDR XI: Sujal Singh, Hardik Sharma, Anuj Rawat (w/c), Rohan Rathi, Arpit Rana, Mayank Rawat, Rounak Waghela, Navdeep Saini, Ashish Meena, Akhil Chaudhary, and Rohit Yadav.

PD6 XI: Vansh Bedi (w/c), Aarush Malhotra, Samarth Seth, Pranav Pant, Dev Lakra, Lalit Yadav, Sarthak Pal, Rajneesh Dadar, Aayush Singh, Udhav Mohan, and Pardeep Parashar.

Match Report

Batting first, the East Delhi Riders faced the first blow in Hardik Sharma, who mistimed a pull off Parashar and ended up getting caught by Lalit Yadav at mid-wicket in the third over. Hardik could score only 12 runs off nine balls. Taking charge after Hardik’s dismissal, Sujal Singh and Anuj Rawat carried the innings with an explosive approach in the powerplay phase, stitching a quick 31-run partnership for the second wicket. This partnership was mainly led by Sujal, who scored 34 runs off just 21 balls, with five fours and a six, before getting edged behind the wickets to Vansh Bedi off Udhav Mohan’s bowling in the sixth over. However, Rohan Rathi joined Anuj in the middle, and they stitched a crucial partnership of 46 runs for the third wicket. Rathi contributed with a 22-run knock in this partnership, hitting two fours and a six. He lost his wicket to Lalit Yadav in an attempt to play a lofted shot in the straight, where he was caught by Rajneesh Dadar. Later in the innings, Anuj Rawat stitched two much-needed partnerships with Arpit Rana (11) and Mayank Rawat (7). Anuj’s brilliant knock came to an end at the individual score of 61 runs off just 39 balls, with seven fours and two sixes. After his knock, Rounak Waghela’s late contribution of 18 runs helped the Riders post 176/7. Pardeep Pararshar ended up with brilliant bowling figures of 3/28 in his four overs for PD6, alongside two wickets picked by Lalit Yadav.

While chasing the target, the opening pair of skipper Vansh Bedi and Aarush Malhotra added 26 runs for the first wicket in 3.1 overs before the latter mistimed a lofted shot off Rohit Yadav and ended up getting caught by Akhil Chaudhary. Malhotra scored 14 runs off 10 balls, with two fours. However, Bedi and Samarth Seth stabilised PD6’s run chase, stitching a 48-run partnership for the second wicket. Bedi brilliantly led this partnership with his amazing 41-run knock off just 28 balls, hitting six fours and a six. Seth took the responsibility to attack the bowlers and added a quick partnership of 34 runs for the third wicket with Pranav Pant (15). Later in the middle order, it was only Dev Lakra (10) to touch the double-digit individual score. Seth’s resilient knock came to an end in the 19th over. He scored 52 runs off 42 balls, with five fours and a six, and his dismissal took PD6’s score to 160/7 in 18.1 overs. Eventually, Purani Delhi 6 were restricted to 171/9 in the entire 20 overs. The duo of Navdeep Saini (3/32) and Ashish Meena (2/29) played a brilliant role in defending the target for their side. With this win, the Riders have also moved to the top spot in the tournament’s points table, getting two more points added to their name.

Player of the Match

East Delhi Riders’ Anuj Rawat was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his brilliant knock under pressure, which anchored the innings and helped his side post a defendable total.