Samdan Dhichana 97/10 in 12 overs (Sakil 40, Bharat 28, Balkrishan 3/32) lost to RR XI 101/3 in 10.3 overs (Hardevsinh 45, Mahipalsinh 30, Karan 1/18) by 7 wickets
A 20 day tennis Cricket carnival in the city of Indian Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja came to an end with RR XI storming their way to the trophy. The Jay Cup 2019 consisting of teams from all across Jamnagar contested in a knockout format.
Samdan Dhichana won the toss and elected to bat first. The tournament witnessed some scores in excess of 100 being chased easily and hence they needed to get off to a flier in order to achieve a score good enough to challenge their heavyweight opposition. But their plans were ruined as soon as the first inning began. Balkrishna Jadeja wrecked havoc on their top order and four of their top five batsmen were back in the hut with nothing on the board. The top four could last for only seven balls while contributing zero to the tally.
After being 0 for 4, Saamdan Dhichana required a partnership. Bharat and Dinesh had a tough task of blunting down the already roaring RR XI bowlers. A 36 run partnership between the two batsmen ensured some fightback but the sense of calmness was nowhere close to their dugout. Chavda and Naydu removed the well set pair of Bharat and Dinesh and the inning of Samdan Dhichana was pegged back once again. They were praying for a miracle as a target below 75 would have meant that the game was over in the first inning itself.
A sentence we always come across “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”. Sakil Noyda took the charge in the final overs. He was on a mission as he took apart the top bowlers of RR XI. Balkrishan and Mahipal who wrecked havoc in the initial overs, were looking for the covers as Sakil single handedly added around 41 runs of final three over. The game was alive once again.
A score of 97 in the first inning probably was not safe but RR XI gave away momentum to the opposition. Samdan Dhichana carried it forward into the second inning and they nipped out two of the RR Batsmen for just seven runs. Throughout the tournament, RR XI established themselves as a team known for their fighting spirit. They knew how to snatch away the momentum from their opposition and that’s what they did here. After weathering the initial storm, Mahipalsinh and Hardevsinh started doing what they usually do.
From 7 for two in 2.1 overs, the pair of Mahipalsinh and Hardevsinh added 70 runs off just 40 balls with most of their runs coming in the last 14 ball of their partnership. They took on Bharat and Bheema in the eighth and ninth overs for fourteen and nineteen runs respectively. The game was literally over in the ninth over itself with formalities being completed in the tenth.
