DCL Cup Quarter-final: SRT XI vs Hindustan Tiles

Brief Scores

Hindustan Tiles:                       98 all out in 19.4 overs

                                                            Manish 30 (19)

                                                            Akshay 23 (17)

                                                            Sachin 3/9 (4)

                                                            Kunj Sharma 3/9 (2.4)

                                                            Sahaan John 2/11 (4)

                                                                                                                                               

SRT XI:                             3 / 99 in 10.2 overs

                                                            Kunj Sharma 64* (31)

                                                            Akshay 1/8 (1.2)

                                                                                                                                   

Man of the Match:                        Kunj Sharma (SRT XI)

Complete Scorecard:                    http://bit.ly/1yb9kA3

All-rounder Kunj and SRT Spinners Rout Hindustan Tiles

Akshay raghav has scored 35 percent of the runs for Hindustan Tiles in this tournament. The team is, in a very real sense, a one-man army. And once again, when that one man was felled, it was only a matter of time.

Kunj picked up 3 wickets then stroked an aggressive 64

For the 3^rd time in 3 innings, Akshay began with a lot of promise. He unleashed 3 boundaries off Saurabh in the 2^nd – a jab past square leg, a flowing cover drive and an effortless flick. He picked out gaps in Saurabh’s field once again in his next over, whipping a cut and creaming another over drive. From the other end, Manish began with his usual aggression, but his shot selection was a lot better than we are used to seeing. After slamming a cut and a cover drive off the first two balls he faced, he also gloved a hook behind the keeper off Kunj in the 3^rd, before smashing a savage cover drive off Saurabh in the 4^th. 43/ 0 in 4 was a promising start for the batting side.

The 5^th over, however, turned out to be the beginning of the end. Akshay failed to check the fielder at backward square leg, and he flicked a juicy leg side half volley by Kunj straight into his hands. Ravi was rushed out 2 balls later, flat batting a short ball outside off straight to mid on.

Sachin picked up 9/3 from his 3 overs

Manish carried on adventurously, slamming a six over extra cover off seamer Raj and one over long on off Mukund before the off-spinner finally had him caught there for 30 off another attempted six. The score at this stage was 58 / 3, but there was no further batting to come.

Left-arm spinner Sachin, off-spinner Sahaan and leggie Rahul went through their overs quickly as the batsmen fiddled around clueless against the turning ball. Sachin picked up 9 / 3 from his 4 overs, Sahaan ended up with 11 / 2, and Kunj cleaned out Neeraj to bundle Hindustan Tiles out for 98.

Kunj himself walked out after Shivam was clean bowled by left-arm spinner Sudesh in the 2^nd over, and he tore apart the Hindustan Tiles bowling, muscling fours and sixes at a rapid rate in his favorite long on – mid-wicket zone (6 x 6, 6 x 4) to end up with 64 not out from 31 balls. The target was completed in the 11^th over, and Kunj pocketed the Man of the Match award for his standout all-round performance.