Rama Krishna Sangem
Falcon Risers Hyderabad, co-owned by celebrity actor Ram Charan, outclassed KVN Bangalore Strikers, co-owned by Hrithik Roshan, by seven wickets in their opening match of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) T10 on Thursday at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in Thane. Additionally, the victory helped Hyderabad secure the top position on the points table with two points and a net run rate of 4.4.
After electing to bowl first, Falcon Risers Hyderabad got off to a solid start as their pace bowler Anurag Sarshar removed KVN Bangalore Strikers’ Mansoor KL (1) cheaply on just fourth delivery of the match as he edged it to wicket-keeper Varun Kumar while trying to hit a maximum. Moreover, in the very next over, Bangalore lost their second wicket in the form of their wicketkeeper-batter Ashiq Ali Shamsu (1), who was removed by Vicky Bhoir courtesy of a brilliant catch by A Sarshar at mid-off.
Riding high on confidence after two breakthroughs in powerplay, Hyderabad continued their wicket-taking spree as Vivek Mohanan, while bowling with a tape ball, castled Saroj Pramanik (1) with a stupendous inswing delivery, while in the next over, vice-captain Vishwajit Thakur removed Thomas Dias (11), who was looking in form and had smashed two boundaries before departing.
Ankur lost at 10 runs
With Bangalore reeling at 23/4 after four overs, the team’s captain Ankur Singh and all-rounder Rahul Baghel shifted their focus on building a partnership by playing carefully and without taking risks in order to avoid losing anymore wickets. However, the strategy didn’t work for KVN Bangalore Strikers as Ankur lost his wicket to Thakur after scoring just 10 runs, which included a maximum.
The seventh over, which was also a 50-50 over, saw Bhoir picking his second wicket of the match as Ajit Mohite (4) gave an easy catch to Jagat Sarkar off his delivery. Also, Bangalore only manage to score only seven runs in the 50-50 over, thus failing to accomplish the challenge of scoring minimum 16 runs in the over. Hence, they lost three challenge runs, which left them struggling at 40/6 after 7 overs.
The misery continued for KVN Bangalore Strikers in the death overs as they were bowled out for a meagre 66 runs in 9.5 overs. Meanwhile, for Falcon Risers Hyderabad, Prathamesh Thakre was pick of the bowlers as he bagged three wickets in only five deliveries while giving away just 3 runs.
Chasing 67 run target
Chasing a moderate target of 67-runs, Hyderabad were off to a cautious start as Bangalore opted to bowl their opening over with a tape ball. However, the second over of their innings witnessed Ankur Singh giving 10 extras, which included a no ball and six wides, hence helping Hyderabad to end the mandatory powerplay with 15 runs on scoreboard and all wickets intact.
But, all-rounder Prajjwal Somvanshi shifted momentum in Bangalore’s favour as he bowled a double-wicket maiden over, in which he removed Jagat Sarkar (15) and Varun Kumar (0) on successive deliveries.
The fall of two wickets put Hyderabad under pressure as they were 29/2 after 4 overs, but skipper Krishna Satpute, who smashed 27 runs off 17 balls which included a three sixes and a four, and Vishwajit Thakur, who scored unbeaten 20 off 13, helped Hyderabad not only to emerge successful in 50-50 over and earn nine challenge runs, but also win the match with seven wickets in hand and three balls to spare.
Notably, Vivek Mohanan of Falcon Risers Hyderabad was named ‘Man of the Match’ for his outstanding bowling performance, which saw him picking up a wicket while giving away just 4 runs in two overs.
The Indian Street Premier League 2024 T10 tournament will be telecast live on Sony Sports Ten 2 TV channel in India. All 18 matches of Indian Street Premier League 2024 will be streamed live on SonyLIV app and website.
