Mayank Rawat explains his five sixes in an over in semifinal

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Mayank Rawat, the Delhi cricketer, guarantees one thing whenever he is at the crease. A flurry of sixes. That is what the right-handed batsman did when he was given the task of playing the Super Over in the first semi-final of the 48th Lala Raghubir Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Modern School Grounds, Barakhamba Road on Tuesday.

After Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy had looked like sealing the match against Noida Wonders, being 170-odd after 20 overs in chase of the 246-run target with six wickets in hand, a sudden collapse brought the match to a close finish.

The journey for the last 10 runs, with two wickets in hand, was a trudge after the top-order batsmen had thrown their wickets away in pursuit of a quick chase.

The entire team comprising Yash Dhull, Dev Lakra, Hrithik Shokeen, Arpit Rana (who made 93 off 48 balls, 12x4s, 5x6s) and coach Rajesh Nagar sat on the boundary looking worried.

The last two wickets fell, one caught behind and the other at mid-wicket, and the game went into Super Over.

"When Arpit and I were walking into the middle, he said being the left-hander he will take strike against left-arm spin of Harsh Tyagi," said Rawat after the match.

It so happened that Arpit Rana's powerful shot hit Tyagi's bowling hand leaving him in some pain but fetching only a single.

From there, Rawat did what he does best. He hammered Tyagi, who was a teammate of Rawat in Delhi Premier League (DPL) and played a stellar role in the semi-final there, for five sixes. Three of those sixes went onto the roof of the Modern School building where the players sit while two were pulled to the mid-wicket boundary.

Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy had made 31 in the Super Over with Rawat scoring 30 of those. Rawat has this habit of hitting five and six sixes in an over. He did that for against Ayush Badoni in the final of DPL 2024, helping East Delhi Riders clinch the title. This year again, in his first DDCA League match, he hit six sixes in an over.

"When he was bowling, I thought to myself, 'either he will bowl yorker or else he will bowl outside the off-stump'. That is what he did. He kept bowling what I predicted -- either yorker (full length) or fast outside off. I kept hitting them."

Noida Wonders coach Phool Chand Sharma admitted, "This target is too tough to get."

But it wasn't that tough for Lakshya Dalal, who had top-scored for Noida Wonders with 63 off 30 balls (2x4s, 7x6s) earlier in the day.

Dalal, who made his Ranji Trophy debut for Haryana this season, opened with a six to mid-wicket and a four to fine leg off a slow bouncer. The Bal Bhavan Cricket Academy bowler Basit Bashir bowled a wide which the wicketkeeper missed and it went for four. Noida Wonders were suddenly in the game, needing 17 off four balls. A four followed reducing the target to 13 off three. But an error of judgement from Tyagi proved costly.

Dalal had hit the ball to deep square leg and immediately rushed back for a double. However, Tyagi was in no mood to take the double. He stayed put not reacting to Dalal.

Coach Phoolchand Sharma was visibly upset at Tyagi not taking a double.

"He made a mistake. Dalal was doing well, he could have done it."

That left the equation tricky. They needed two sixes off the last two balls.

But the J&K left-arm pacer Bashir trapped Tyagi leg-before the wicket and the match was over.

The second semi-final between Rann Star and Sporting Club will take place on Wednesday.