DPL 2026: Ranjan draws inspiration from Djokovic for celebration in maiden win for Strikers

New Delhi:North Delhi Strikers captain Sarthak Ranjan revealed that his viral half-century celebration was a tribute to tennis icon Novak Djokovic after his explosive knock of 95 set up a comfortable six-wicket victory for his side over East Delhi Riders in the Delhi Premier League (DPL) clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Chasing 172, Strikers found themselves in early trouble at 39/2 before Ranjan and Yash Bhatia turned the game around with a blistering 113-run stand for the third wicket. Ranjan led from the front, smashing eight sixes and seven fours in his 50-ball 95, including a game-changing 29-run over off pacer Simarjeet Singh, before falling just short of a well-deserved century.

“It feels great to win, especially because this is my first victory as captain. We lost two early wickets, so the plan was to build a partnership and make sure we didn’t fall behind in the powerplay. Once Yash Bhatia came in, things became easier.

“We had a good partnership in the last match as well, and today he took a lot of pressure off me by finding the boundaries regularly. We just focused on building the innings and knew that one big over would eventually come. I didn’t expect it to be that big, but thankfully it worked in our favour,” Ranjan said in a statement on Thursday.

Ranjan, who caught attention with his unique celebration upon reaching his half-century, admitted it was inspired by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic. “I’m a huge fan of Novak Djokovic, so the celebration was just a tribute to him. I’ve seen him do it after his victories, and I wanted to celebrate in a similar way,” he revealed.

Earlier, East Delhi Riders posted 171/6 in their 20 overs, riding on an unbeaten 82 off 50 balls from left-hander Sujal Singh, who struck six fours and four sixes while wickets fell around him. Medium-pacer Vikas Dixit was the standout performer with the ball for North Delhi Strikers, returning figures of 1-19 in his four overs.

Following the solid platform laid by Ranjan, Bhatia finished unbeaten with a fluent unbeaten 53 off 34 balls, laced with seven fours and a six, to seal the win for Strikers with four overs to spare.

IANS