Dehradun, September 4: The Dehradun T20 League 2026, Uttarakhand’s biggest franchise cricket tournament, got off to a spectacular start on Wednesday.
The cricketing extravaganza was officially inaugurated with a vibrant opening ceremony at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun. In the tournament’s opening match that followed, Rishikesh Dragons produced a dominant all-round performance to defeat Herbertpur Knightriders by a massive margin of 134 runs.
Former BCCI Vice President Mahim Verma, Chief Patron of the Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) P. C. Verma, Dehradun T20 League CEO Navneet Mishra, and Cricket Association of Dehradun (CAD) Secretary Peeyoosh Kumar Raghubanshi were among the prominent dignitaries present at the opening ceremony. The guests officially declared the tournament open and encouraged the players ahead of the competition.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Rishikesh Dragons posted a mammoth total of 239/4 in their allotted 20 overs. Opening batter Yuvraj Chaudhary led the charge with a brilliant 70 off 40 balls, hitting four fours and six sixes.
Ishgra Jagoori also made a valuable contribution, smashing 59 runs off 32 balls with the help of seven sixes.
Kamaldeep Singh then unleashed a late onslaught, scoring a blistering 64 off just 25 balls, including two fours and eight sixes. Sachin Chauhan also chipped in with an unbeaten 22 off nine deliveries. For Herbertpur, Devendra S. Bora was the most successful bowler, picking up two wickets for just 18 runs from his four overs.
Chasing a massive target of 240, Herbertpur Knightriders failed to withstand the Rishikesh bowling attack and were bowled out for just 105 runs in 14.4 overs. Kunal V. Singh was the top scorer for Herbertpur with 22 runs, while captain Ashar Khan scored 17 and Nikhil Pundir contributed 14.
Rishikesh Dragons captain Tejender Singh led from the front with a sensational bowling performance, claiming five wickets for 30 runs in his four overs. Devendra Dhariyal and Ravinder Negi picked up two wickets each, while Aditya Sethi claimed one.
With this emphatic victory, Rishikesh Dragons have made a winning start to their Dehradun T20 League 2026 campaign.
