On a day in which 20 wickets fell, Delhi managed to come out on top thanks mainly to Manan Sharma’s all-round show. The result assured Delhi of qualification while Punjab are more or less out of the race for the knockout stage of the tournament.

If it was Manan Sharma’s unbeaten knock of 77 that took Delhi to safety in the first innings, his five wicket haul (5/31) in Punjab’s second innings powered Delhi to an 88-run win. In a low scoring game, Delhi collapsed in their second innings but Punjab returned the favour during the unsuccessful chase of 178. The result was a 90-run win for Delhi.

Manan was helped by fellow left arm spinner Varun Sood (2/40), the pair combining well to dismiss Punjab in the final session, helping Delhi come back for the win after conceding the first innings lead.

Needing a win to get anything out of the match at the start of the day, Gautam Gambhir (67) and Unmukt Chand added 110 for the first wicket to set the pace for Delhi. They had started the innings 14 runs in the arrears. Punjab then grabbed the initiative, with spinners Gurkeerat Mann (3/20) and later Harbhajan Singh (3/51) ripping through the top and middle order as they picked up three wickets each. Pacer Sandeep Singh (3/33) returned to polish off the lower order. No Delhi batsman beyond the openers made a 20.

With a victory target of 179, Punjab sensed their chance to increase the odds of making the knock outs, but it was not to be. Varun Sood and Manan Sharma hit the right lengths and pace, letting the wearing pitch and mounting pressure do the rest.

The task for Punjab was going to become even more difficult with Gambhir starting with the spinners straight away. Varun Sood sent the openers packing by the eighth over with deliveries that skid on and from there Manan took over. The strategy was to bowl straight, making the batsmen play on a turning track. The fact that there were seven batsmen dismissed bowled and one out leg before in the Punjab innings was a general indicator of the lines Delhi bowled.

The curtain came down fast on Punjab as the side was bowled out for 88 within 35 overs of the innings. The spin duo had sent down 30 of these overs a measure of the confidence Gambhir had on his spinners and of course the bowlers’ accurate reading of the conditions.

Brief scores: Delhi 249 & 192 all out in 78.4 overs (U Chand 56, G Gambhir 67; Gurkeerat Singh 3/20, Sandeep Sharma 3/33, Harbhajan Singh 3/51) bt Punjab 263 & 88 all out (Manan Sharma 5/31, Varun Sood 2/40) by 90 runs.