Shikhar Dhawan failed to score in his first game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy as Delhi suffered an shock eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Jammu and Kashmir for their first loss of the tournament.
Nitish Rana took Delhi to 165 for seven with 55 off 30 balls, a quickfire innings that included half a dozen sixes. This was after Delhi decided to bat at the Patel International Stadium.
Jammu and Kashmir made short of the 166-run target, racing to victory in 15.5 overs with eight wickets in hand. The flying start to the chase was provided by openers Shubham Khajuria (49 off 22) and Jatin Wadhawan (48 not out off 33) before Manzoor Dar smashed 58 off 24 balls.
Dar was picked up by IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab ahead of the 2018 edition but did not get a game. The franchise eventually released him. With a blistering knock on Thursday, he is certain to attract some attention ahead of the IPL auctions next month.
It was the first loss for Delhi and first victory for Jammu and Kashmir.
It was not an ideal start to the tournament for India opener Dhawan, who is not in the best of form. His stay in the middle lasted nine balls.
