Hyderabad struck first in the 5th minute when Jacob Anderson converted a superb assist from Rajinder Singh. The young Indian midfielder’s audacious dribble past multiple defenders set up Anderson for an easy deflection goal, putting Toofans ahead 1-0 early on.

Ranchi Royals responded with fury. Two penalty corners in quick succession allowed Boon to unleash his magic—first in the 13th minute, then again at the 15th, both fed by Manpreet Singh’s expert drags. The first quarter ended 2-1 in Ranchi’s favor, injecting thrill into the contest.

A goalless second quarter featured dazzling attacks from both ends, but defenses held strong heading into halftime. Post-interval, Ranchi seized control with Boon’s third goal from yet another penalty corner in the 34th minute, extending the lead to 3-1 after a clever feint past the keeper.

Not to be outdone, Amandeep Lakra ignited hopes for Hyderabad with a stunning strike in the 38th minute, making it 3-2. The last quarter turned into a pressure cooker as Toofans pressed for an equalizer, squandering penalty corner opportunities. Ranchi Royals’ backline stood tall, ensuring a hard-fought win and a final date with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers tomorrow.

Boon’s heroics underline Ranchi Royals’ championship pedigree, promising a blockbuster finale in this prestigious league.

The T20 series served as a preparation for the Asia Cup 2025, held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), between the host UAE, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The final, played on December 7th in Sharjah, saw Pakistan initially struggling to build a competitive score. However, Nawaz’s masterful spin then ensnared the Afghan batsmen.

Nawaz, who had been consistently performing well throughout the tournament, continued his form in the final. He conceded only one run in his first four balls of the sixth over before taking two consecutive wickets with the final two balls. He dismissed Darwish Rasooli on the fifth ball and then Azmatullah Omarzai, putting him on the verge of a hat-trick. He had the opportunity to complete the hat-trick in the following over.

On the first ball of the eighth over, Mohammad Haris stumped Ibrahim Zadran, completing Nawaz’s hat-trick. Nawaz etched his name in the history books by becoming only the third Pakistani bowler to claim a hat-trick in T20 Internationals. Before him, Faheem Ashraf (2017) and Mohammad Hasnain (2019) had accomplished the feat, both against Sri Lanka.

Nawaz didn’t stop at the hat-trick. He added his fourth wicket within the next three balls. In his first two overs, Nawaz conceded only one run while taking four wickets. The Pakistani spinner capped off his spell with another wicket, dismissing Afghan captain Rashid Khan in his final over, completing his five-wicket haul. Nawaz finished with figures of 5 wickets for 19 runs in his 4 overs, marking his first five-wicket haul in a T20 International.

Earlier in the match, Pakistan had set a target of 142 runs for victory. Pakistan’s start was shaky, losing five wickets for 72 runs. Nawaz (25) displayed his batting skills, stabilizing the innings. He partnered with captain Salman Agha, adding 40 runs to guide the team to a competitive score. Following this, Nawaz’s five-wicket haul demolished the Afghan team. Afghanistan was bowled out for 66 runs in 15.5 overs. Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem also contributed with 2 wickets each.

Batting first in the 16th match of CPL 2025, the Barbados Royals scored 178 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs. Sherfane Rutherford scored 45 runs for the team, while Kadeem Alleyne contributed 41 runs. Captain Rovman Powell scored 31 runs. For the Trinbago Knight Riders, Mohammad Amir took two wickets, while Andre Russell took three wickets.

Chasing the target, the Knight Riders started well, but lost two wickets for 56 runs in 6.1 overs. After this, team captain Nicholas Pooran, who came to bat, played an aggressive innings of 65 runs not out off 40 balls. He hit one four and six sixes in his innings. Pooran hadn’t scored big in the entire season, but he played a brilliant innings against Barbados. Pooran gave good support to Colin Munro, and together, they formed a match-winning partnership of 93 runs for the third wicket.

Nicholas Pooran completed his half-century in just 30 balls. This is his 14th half-century in the Caribbean Premier League. He has scored 145 runs in five matches in this season with an average of 48.33. Because of his innings, the Trinbago Knight Riders have achieved a hat-trick of victories. Apart from Pooran, Colin Munro also performed well, scoring a stormy 67 runs off 44 balls with the help of 4 fours and 4 sixes.

Munro’s season has been outstanding so far. He is the highest run-scorer of this season. He has scored 283 runs in five matches with an average of 56.60. Earlier, he played a match-winning innings of 120 runs against the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. After the brilliant victory over the Barbados Royals, the Knight Riders have also completed their winning hat-trick.

In the CPL 2025 points table, the Trinbago Knight Riders have reached the top with 4 wins in 5 matches. Before the match against Barbados Royals, they had registered wins against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons and St Lucia Kings. Now, after winning the match against the Barbados Royals, they have achieved a hat-trick of victories.

Maney Grewal’s Hat-trick

In this DPL 2025 match, Central Delhi Kings batted first, scoring 155 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Chasing the target, the East Delhi Riders were decimated by Delhi Kings’ fast bowler, Maney Grewal, who took a hat-trick and five wickets, restricting East Delhi to just 93 runs. Consequently, Delhi Kings secured a remarkable victory by 62 runs.

Maney Grewal’s dominance began in the third over. On the fourth ball of the over, Maney Grewal had Hardik Sharma (4 runs) caught by Jasveer Sehrawat. He then bowled out Shivam Tripathi and Anuj Rawat in consecutive balls, completing his hat-trick. In the match, Maney Grewal took 5 wickets for 23 runs in 4 overs. Additionally, Gavansh Khurana took two wickets.

East Delhi Team All Out at 93 Runs

As a result, East Delhi was bowled out for just 93 runs in 16 overs. Akhil Chaudhary scored the most runs for East Delhi with 26 runs off 22 balls. Ronak Waghela scored 19 runs before getting out. Opener Arpit Rana scored 17 runs. No other batsman managed to reach double figures. With this win, Delhi Kings secured their seventh victory of the season.

Delhi Kings Achieves Seventh Victory

Having defeated East Delhi this season, Delhi Kings recorded their seventh win. Batting first, Delhi Kings opener Aryaveer Sehwag performed brilliantly in his debut match, scoring 22 runs off 16 balls with the help of 4 fours. Yugal Saini scored the most runs for Delhi Kings with 52 runs off 32 balls, including 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Jasveer Sehrawat scored an unbeaten 37 runs off 35 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes. This helped Delhi Kings score 155 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. Ronak Waghela took the most wickets for East Delhi with two.

The exciting match took place on Monday, August 11, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium between the New Delhi Tigers and South Delhi Superstarz, in the second season of DPL. Chasing a target of 197 runs, the Tigers needed 12 runs to win in the final over with six wickets remaining. The team seemed to be in a winning position, with opener Anmol Sharma having scored 79 runs. The final over then began with high drama.

Rahul Chaudhary, the spinner, bowled the over, having already conceded 35 runs in his previous three overs. However, he performed exceptionally well on the first ball. Rahul dismissed set batsman Anmol Sharma with a catch taken by Aryan Dalal at square leg. On the next ball, Rahul caught out the new batsman Sumit. With this, Rahul was close to his hat-trick, and the Superstarz had a glimmer of hope for victory. Rahul then took his third wicket by dismissing Gulzar Sandhu, making him the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the season.

After taking three wickets in a row, Rahul appeared to be a hero for the team, but the situation changed dramatically. After taking the hat-trick, Rahul bowled a wide delivery that went for four extra runs. This not only wasted the ball but also reduced the target by five runs. On Rahul’s fourth ball, the Tigers’ batsmen took two runs. With five runs needed in two balls, Rahul’s next ball was hit for a six by Abhishek Khandelwal, securing the victory for the team. Thus, Rahul, who had been a hero for the first three balls, became the reason for the loss in the next two.

Before this, the Superstarz had scored a big score of 196 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in 20 overs. Opener Dhruv Kaushik scored 65 runs and Deepak Punia scored 54 runs. Aman Bharti took the most wickets for the Tigers, with three. Despite Rahul’s hat-trick, the Tigers won the match by 3 wickets, with Anmol scoring 79 runs and wicketkeeper Tejasvi Dahiya scoring 72 runs.