Contrary to speculation of Himachal Pradesh going into Wednesday's match with the upper hand, Delhi won their opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament easily.
The hosts owed it to the all-round performance of Sumit Narwal, who lived up to his reputation of being a useful all-rounder. Batting first at the Palam Ground, Delhi set a target of 140. Wicketkeeper-batsman Puneet Bisht (26), Puneet Mehra (29) and Narwal (27 not out) were the main scorers.
For Himachal, Kuldip Dewan and Abinav Bali took two wickets each, while Jitender Mehta and Vikramjeet Malik picked up a wicket apiece.
Chasing, Himachal fell 34 runs short as opener Sangram Singh, (23) and Bali (23) were the only ones to put up some resistance. Rajat Bhatia (3 for 25) did not give Himachal's strong batting line-up a chance
Dagar helps Haryana
Mukul Dagar's unbeaten 99, Sanjay Budhwar (3 for 34) and Amit Mishra (2 for 38) helped Haryana beat Punjab by 19 runs.
In another match, Services beat Jammu and Kashmir by 18 runs.