3rd May, 2021, Morgan Hill.
Blazers (MiCR) 178/7 in 20 overs (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 62, Samson Bhatti 34, Nihal Desai 2/33) beat Grizzlies (MiCR) 113/7 in 20 overs (Nihal Desai 52, Armaan Mehta 2/34) by 65 runs.
Grizzlies (MiLC) were given a target of 179 runs to chase down in their 20 overs. Khilan Surapaneni and Rajveer Singh Khosa came out to open the innings for Grizzlies. But Blazer took almost no time in sending Grizzlies' openers back into pavillion. Now, the onus was on the captain to guide the chase, he tried his best as he contributed 52 runs for his side but couldn't take his team over the line. No other batsman was able to support him during the chase. From the bowling, Armaan Mehta picked up two wickets while Rohan, Siddhant, Amogh and Bishal grabbed a wicket each.
Earlier, Blazers lost the toss and were invited to bat first. There were good contributions from the Blazers' batsmen. Sanjay Krishnamurthi remained the top scorer with the score of 62 off 35 balls, Samson Bhatti hit four sixes in his 19 ball 34 runs. With the help of such innings, Blazers were able to get to a formidable total of 178 runs. Nihal Desai glittered with the ball as well, he scalped two wickets.
Cougars 119/5 in 18.1 overs (Skanda Rohit Sharma 42, Dev Thadani 2/12) beat Strikers 118/4 in 20 overs (Rahul Jariwala 70, Pratham Kataria 2/26) by 5 wickets.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Strikers gave Cougars the target of 119 runs. Though, Cougars' start was not upto the mark but they recovered early from the quick blows. The small contributions from several batsmen helped Cougars to chase down the total quite easily. Skanda Rohit Sharma played really well for his knock of 42. Dev Thadani bowled well for his 2/12.
In the first innings, it was a one-man show, only Rahul could play comfortably, he carried his bat for 16 overs before he got dismissed for 70 off 45 deliveries. Apart from, no other batsman could apply himself and Strikers were restricted to a timid total of 118 runs. Pratham Kataria was 2/26 in his four overs while other batsmen also grabbed a wicket each to their names.
Blazers and Cougars emerged victorius in the first round of the season. Now they need to remain unbeaten for the rest pf season. Hope we see more fireworks next week, goodbye!
