New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Central Delhi Kings all-rounder Keshav Dabas has been penalized 10 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for a Code of Conduct breach during his side’s thrilling four-wicket win over Purani Dilli 6 in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2026 opener at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Dabas was cited under Article 2.5 (Level 1) of the DPL Code of Conduct for making a sending-off gesture towards opposition batter Dev Lakra during the match held on Friday night. “Keshav Dabas admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee – Manu Nayar,” said an official statement from the league on Saturday.

Despite the disciplinary setback, Dabas played a crucial late role with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 17 off nine balls, to guide Central Delhi Kings home in a daunting chase of 203. The successful chase was built on skipper Yash Dhull’s commanding 72 off 45 balls. Dhull received strong early support from opener Siddharth Joon (23 off 14 balls), as the pair added 65 runs inside five overs.

Rajneesh Dadar provided the breakthrough by dismissing Joon, caught by Pankaj Jaswal. Dhull continued to push the scoring alongside Yugal Saini (22) before the latter was run out. Jonty Sidhu fell for a duck shortly after, but Dhull kept the Kings in control before mistiming an upper cut off Jaswal to Dadar at short third man.

A fiery 13-ball 28 from Vansh Bedi kept the run chase alive, but his exit left the Kings needing a finishing flourish. With the pressure building, Dabas held his nerve to smash two consecutive boundaries off the last two balls of the 19th over, leaving just three runs required off the final six deliveries. Jasvir Sehrawat then hit the winning runs to complete the victory with four balls to spare.

Earlier, the league kicked off with an opening ceremony featuring performances by singers Sukhbir Singh and Sunanda Sharma. After that, Purani Dilli 6 captain Anuj Rawat brought out the fireworks to hit an unbeaten 105 off 59 balls. After being sent in to bat, Purani Dilli 6 were reduced to 30/3 in the powerplay. Rawat joined forces with Lakra to share a massive 132-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Lakra contributed a composed 53 off 37 balls, while Rawat struck the tournament’s first century, finishing unbeaten in a knock laced with 11 boundaries and five sixes. Rawat was dropped on 99 before completing his hundred on the next ball, and carry Purani Dilli 6 to 202/4. However, Central Delhi Kings successfully overhauled the total to get their DPL campaign off to a winning start.

–IANS

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