The Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 quarter-final between Delhi and Vidarbha saw India veteran Ishant Sharma named captain of the Delhi team for the knockout encounter. Played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru, the contest saw the experienced pacer return to leadership duties after a seven-year gap.

Ishant was handed the captaincy due to the unavailability of Delhi’s regular leaders. Rishabh Pant, who led the team during the group stage, was ruled out after suffering an abdominal injury while training with the Indian ODI squad ahead of the New Zealand series.

Ayush Badoni, another leadership option for Delhi, was also unavailable as he was called up to the Indian team as a replacement for the injured Washington Sundar.

With Delhi missing players, the management turned to Ishant for the duty. The 37-year-old last led a team in domestic cricket during the 2019 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and had captained an Indian team in a tour match back in 2014-15.

Ishant reaches 200 List A wickets

Delhi won the toss and elected to field first, and Ishant led from the front with the ball.

His biggest moment came in the 25th over when he dismissed opener Atharva Taide, reaching the milestone of 200 List A wickets in the process. Taide had played a crucial role for Vidarbha, scoring 62 off 72 balls and adding 90 runs for the second wicket with Dhruv Shorey.

Despite that breakthrough, Vidarbha recovered well. Yash Rathod scored 86 off 73 balls, while contributions from the lower middle order helped Vidarbha post a total of 300 for 9 in their allotted 50 overs.

Ishant finished with figures of 2 for 47 from nine overs, while Navdeep Saini, Prince Yadav, and Nitish Rana chipped in with wickets.

In reply, Delhi’s chase had a mixed start. Openers Vaibhav Kandpal and Priyansh Arya added a few runs, but Vidarbha bounced back with regular wickets. By the end of 26 overs, Delhi were 122 for 4, with Mayank Gusain and wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat at the crease.

In reply, Delhi’s chase had a mixed start. Openers Vaibhav Kandpal and Priyansh Arya added a few runs, but Vidarbha bounced back with regular wickets. By the end of 26 overs, Delhi were 122 for 4, with Mayank Gusain and wicketkeeper Anuj Rawat at the crease.