The second match of Group A saw the Scholars seal a semifinal berth as they defeated HS16 by 34 runs. Spirited fightbacks by the latter in the innings after initial setbacks weren’t quite enough, as the formidable Scholars romped home comfortably in the end.
With the top order back in the pavilion after putting up just 18 on the board and the asking rate shooting up, HS16 needed some inspiration to breathe life back into their chase. And it came in the form of Susmit Panzade. A powerful batsman who backs himself to hit the big shots, Susmit has the ability to clear the straight boundary without much difficulty. His 46 of just 16 balls came with 7 boundaries, 4 of them being sixes. He was ably assisted by Simha, who played quite a few eye-pleasing drives either side of the wicket, albeit without much reward in terms of boundaries.
However, the Scholars never really let them run away with the game. Some tight bowling in the later part of the innings courtesy Nishant and Shahid pegged HS16 back. And when Nishant claimed the prize scalp of Susmit in the 9th over, their fate was all but sealed.
Earlier in the match, HS16 got a quick breakthrough after choosing to bowl. What followed was a stunning display of six hitting by Jithin. In just 13 balls, he managed a whopping 45 runs, with all but three of them coming from clearing the ropes. As a result, the Scholars’ team raced away to 89 at the halfway point. HS16 staged a wonderful comeback though. Tight bowling along with wickets at regular intervals ensured that only 28 runs were scored in the last 5 overs. A contest was still on the cards
In reply, HS16 were off to a disastrous start. After a stifling over by Ranjith, where only 2 runs were scored, Sreelakshmi ran through their top order. In the space of 3 balls, she managed to remove Athul and Libin, two of HS16’s most priced batsmen over the years. Immediately after, Sai was ran out. Despite a middle-order flourish, the target of 118 proved to be too steep in the end.
Article by Avinaash R.
Article 19 