Swastik Chhikara’s Explosive 87 Helps SS Nalanda Crush Friends Cricket Club by 8 Wickets
Swastik Chhikara’s Explosive 87 Helps SS Nalanda Crush Friends Cricket Club by 8 Wickets
LSKCM T20 Trophy: Friends Cricket Club vs SS Nalanda. Player of the Match: Swastik Chhikara
In the morning fixture of the 1st Late Smt. Kiran Chopra Memorial Tournament, SS Nalanda delivered a commanding performance to defeat Friends Cricket Club by 8 wickets, thanks to a breathtaking innings by Swastik Chhikara, who smashed an unbeaten 87 off just 37 balls. The match, which looked competitive in the first innings, turned into a one-sided affair once the SS Nalanda batters took the field.
Friends Cricket Club Innings:
Batting first, Friends Cricket Club had a solid start through openers Samarth Seth and Harshit Sethi, who stitched together a steady partnership. Samarth looked confident with a fluent 39 off 30 balls, striking 6 boundaries, while Harshit played a supportive role, scoring 29 runs off 29 deliveries. However, the momentum slowed once Lakshay Kundra fell for a duck, trapped LBW by Sahil Dhull.
The middle order struggled to maintain the pace. Yash Dabas (9), Saqlain Haider (5), and Pratap (2) couldn't convert their starts into anything meaningful. The only highlight after the openers was Gulzhar Sandhu, who brought some fireworks with a quick 37 off 26 balls, including 1 four and 3 towering sixes. Despite his efforts, regular wickets kept falling, and Friends Cricket Club could only manage 132 runs in their 20 overs.
The SS Nalanda bowlers were impressive and disciplined. Sahil Dhull was the pick of the lot, claiming 3 wickets for just 17 runs in his 4-over spell. Luv Bhudhwar and Deepak Punia also bowled crucial spells, bagging 2 wickets each, while Hitesh Gemini chipped in with one.
SS Nalanda Innings:
Chasing 133, SS Nalanda got off to a brisk start but lost opener Avneesh Sudha early for 7 runs. What followed, however, was a dominating and fearless display of batting by Swastik Chhikara, who took the game away from Friends Cricket Club in no time.
Swastik played a blinder of an innings, smashing 87 runs off just 37 balls, laced with 6 fours and 8 massive sixes. His clean hitting and aggressive approach left the opposition bowlers helpless. He was well supported by Akash Antil, who added a valuable 36 runs from 23 balls before being dismissed. By the time Akash got out, the match was virtually done and dusted.
Lakhan Singh finished things off alongside Swastik, as SS Nalanda reached the target in just 10.5 overs, ending their innings at 136/2 with a remarkable run rate of 12.6.
The Friends Cricket Club bowlers found no answers to the onslaught. None of them could contain the flow of runs, with Anubhav Dubey and Rohit Nain going for over 15 and 21 runs per over, respectively. Only Kamal Bairwa and Saqlain Haider managed to pick up a wicket each, but the damage had already been done.