Delhi—going by Akash Chopra and Rajat Bhatia’s 194-run stand, Sangwan’s nine wickets and Gambhir’s scintillating ton—simply held their nerve when it mattered.

DELHI’S CROWNS

• 1978-79, Bangalore (vs Karnataka)

• 1979-80, Delhi (vs Mumbai)

• 1981-82, Delhi (vs Karnataka)

• 1985-86, Delhi (vs Haryana)

• 1988-89, Delhi (vs Bengal)

• 1991-92, Delhi (vs Tamil Nadu)

• 2007-08, Mumbai (vs Uttar Pradesh)

—S.PERVEZ QAISER

End of a 16-year itch

• A 16-year wait ended when they beat Uttar Pradesh by nine wickets—Delhi’s seventh title

• The first win: That was in 1978-79, beating Karnataka in the final in Bangalore under Bishan Singh Bedi

• The previous win: In 1991-92 when they beat Tamil Nadu in Delhi under Kirti Azad.

Scoreboard

Uttar Pradesh 1st innings: 342

Delhi 1st innings: 290

Uttar Pradesh 2nd innings (overnight 154-6):

RP Srivastava c Bisht b Bhatia 18, T Srivastava run out 1, S Raina c Bisht b Sangwan 85, M Kaif c Bisht b Sangwan 21, R Shukla c Jain b Bhandari 0, P Chawla c Dhawan b Narwal 4, B Kumar b Sangwan 19, A Khan c Bisht b Sangwan 12, P Kumar b Sangwan 1, P Gupta c Bhatia b Bhandari 13, S Tyagi not out 0

Extras (lb 1, nb 2)3

Total (all out, in 63.2 overs) 177

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-63, 3-123, 4-126, 5-130, 6-130, 7-154, 8-160, 9-169

Bowling: Sangwan 20-6-46-5, Narwal 16-6-65-1, Bhandari 11.2-2-28-2, Bhatia 9-3-14-1, Nanda 7-1-23-0.

... contd.