Golok Bera's 58* and 2/15 Win Man of the Match as Abdul Rahman's 5/26 and Ashutosh Maurya's 37 Help Calcutta Challengers Beat The Lionss by 64 Runs on a Tough Pitch
After an 18-run first over, Abdul Rahman takes four wickets for 8 runs in his next two overs to bowl The Lionss out for 102, answering a patient 166/4 built on long boundaries and a slow pitch
Some wins are won with fireworks. This one was won with patience. On a difficult pitch with long boundaries, where every run had to be earned, Calcutta Challengers made 166/4 in 15 overs and then bowled The Lionss out for 102 in 12.1 overs, a win by 64 runs. Golok Bera (58 not out off 40) and captain Ashutosh Maurya (37 off 23) gave a masterclass in how to bat when the conditions are against you, with 2/15 with the ball, to earn the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance, while Abdul Rahman turned a bad first over into a five-wicket haul, 5/26.
A Tough Start on a Tough Pitch
Nothing came easily at the start. Moly (7 off 3) was caught by Amit Ranjan off Debabrata Pattanaik at 10/1 in 0.5 overs, and wicketkeeper Hamzad (8 off 4) was bowled by Sourav (S K Jena) at 16/2 in 1.2 overs. With the boundaries long and the pitch slow, The Lionss bowled to their plans, and credit is due to them for it. Sourav conceded just 13 runs in two overs with seven dot balls (economy 6.50), and Pranay Patel kept things tight with 1/23 in three overs and seven dots.
Ashish (Toxic) steadied things with 21 off 13 and three sixes before he was caught by Sudeep Karmakar off Sanjay Pandit at 52/3 in 5.2 overs. Sanjay Pandit took that wicket in his only over, giving away just 8 runs.
Golok Bera and Ashutosh Maurya, a Masterclass in Sensible Batting
It was here that the match turned towards Calcutta Challengers. Golok Bera and captain Ashutosh Maurya did not try to hit every ball out of the ground. They ran hard, picked their gaps, and took their sixes only when the bowler gave them one. The pair added 62 for the fourth wicket in 5.5 overs, and Ashutosh made 37 off 23 with four fours and two sixes before he was caught by wicketkeeper Debabrata Pattanaik off Pranay Patel at 114/4 in 11.1 overs.
Golok stayed to the end for 58 not out off 40 balls, with three fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 145, a modest rate that was exactly right for this pitch. Sovandeep Biswas then smashed 20 not out off 10, with two sixes, and the two put on an unbroken 52 in the last 3.5 overs to take Calcutta Challengers to 166/4.
The Lionss fought for every run, and deserve real credit for holding a side with this much hitting power to 166. Vivek Singh and Sudeep Karmakar each bowled three overs and took the hits when they came (Vivek Singh 0/40, Sudeep Karmakar 0/36), and captain Sunil Sahoo went for 19 in his one over, but between them they made it a contest. The innings included 13 sixes, 7 fours and 15 extras (8 wides, 4 byes and 3 no-balls).
A Good Start for The Lionss
The Lionss began the chase of 167 with real intent. Sourav (S K Jena) top-scored with 30 off 25 (one four and two sixes), and Sanjay Pandit (left-hander) hit 15 off 10 with two fours before he was caught by Ashutosh Maurya off Golok Bera at 41/1 in 4.2 overs. Sudeep Karmakar (3 off 4) fell next at 57/2 in 5.4 overs, and Alok Ckt hit 22 off 9 (one four and two sixes, SR 244.44) before he was caught by Ashutosh Maurya off Moly at 90/7 in 9.3 overs, which was the last real spell of resistance from The Lionss.
Abdul Rahman's Comeback
This is the part of the match people will talk about for a long time. Abdul Rahman began his spell badly, giving away 18 runs in his first over. It would have been easy to take him off, and easy for him to lose heart. He did neither. In his next two overs Rahman took four wickets for 8 runs: Pranay Patel (caught by Hamzad at 78/3) and Amit Ranjan (bowled at 78/4) within three balls of each other, and later Debabrata Pattanaik (caught by Hamzad at 101/8) and Jay (bowled at 101/9) on consecutive balls. Together with Sudeep Karmakar (caught by Imran), he finished with a five-wicket haul, 5/26 in three overs, with eight dot balls, a fine comeback for the team.
Golok Bera backed it up with 2/15 in three overs (economy 5.00, seven dots), taking Sanjay Pandit and Vivek Singh (caught by Imran at 87/5), Moly took 2/23 (Biraja Tripathy bowled and Alok Ckt caught), and Hamzad had Sourav caught by Imran for the final wicket at 102/10 in 12.1 overs. Sovandeep Biswas (0/14 in one over) was the only Calcutta Challengers bowler to go above ten an over. Calcutta Challengers took 10 wickets, with Imran taking three catches, Ashutosh Maurya two and Hamzad two behind the stumps.
Looking Ahead
Golok Bera's 58*, Ashutosh Maurya's 37 and Abdul Rahman's 5/26 won Calcutta Challengers a hard game by 64 runs. The Lionss can be proud of how they bowled in the first innings, with Sourav's 1/13, Pranay Patel's 1/23 and Sanjay Pandit's 1/8, and of the early fight shown by Sourav and Alok Ckt in the chase.
Calcutta Challengers — Batting (166/4 in 15.0 Ov)
| Batsman | Status | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamzad (wk) | b Sourav (S K Jena) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 200.00 |
| Moly | c Amit Ranjan b Debabrata Pattanaik | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 233.33 |
| Golok Bera | not out | 58 | 40 | 3 | 4 | 145.00 |
| Ashish (Toxic) | c Sudeep Karmakar b Sanjay Pandit | 21 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 161.54 |
| Ashutosh Maurya (c) | c Debabrata Pattanaik b Pranay Patel | 37 | 23 | 4 | 2 | 160.87 |
| Sovandeep Biswas | not out | 20 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 200.00 |
| Extras (wd 8, b 4, nb 3) | 15 | |||||
| Total: 15.0 Ov, 4 Wkts | 166 (CRR 11.07) | |||||
To bat: Paul Zomi, Praveen, Saif Ali, Qamar Khan Cricket, Abdul Rahman, Imran, Raju Akter
Fall of Wickets — Calcutta Challengers
10-1 (Moly, 0.5 ov), 16-2 (Hamzad, 1.2 ov), 52-3 (Ashish (Toxic), 5.2 ov), 114-4 (Ashutosh Maurya, 11.1 ov)
Bowling — The Lionss
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | NB | Eco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debabrata Pattanaik | 2 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11.50 |
| Sourav (S K Jena) | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.50 |
| Pranay Patel | 3 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 7.67 |
| Sanjay Pandit | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.00 |
| Vivek Singh | 3 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13.33 |
| Sunil Sahoo (c) | 1 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19.00 |
| Sudeep Karmakar | 3 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12.00 |
The Lionss — Batting (102/10 in 12.1 Ov)
| Batsman | Status | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sourav (S K Jena) | c Imran b Hamzad | 30 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 120.00 |
| Sanjay Pandit | c Ashutosh Maurya b Golok Bera | 15 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 150.00 |
| Sudeep Karmakar | c Imran b Abdul Rahman | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Alok Ckt | c Ashutosh Maurya b Moly | 22 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 244.44 |
| Pranay Patel | c Hamzad b Abdul Rahman | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Amit Ranjan | b Abdul Rahman | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Vivek Singh | c Imran b Golok Bera | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 140.00 |
| Biraja Tripathy | b Moly | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Debabrata Pattanaik | c Hamzad b Abdul Rahman | 9 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 90.00 |
| Jay | b Abdul Rahman | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Sunil Sahoo (c) | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras (b 6, wd 8) | 14 | |||||
| Total: 12.1 Ov, 10 Wkts | 102 (CRR 8.38) | |||||
Fall of Wickets — The Lionss
41-1 (Sanjay Pandit, 4.2 ov), 57-2 (Sudeep Karmakar, 5.4 ov), 67-2 (Sourav (S K Jena), 6.2 ov), 78-3 (Pranay Patel, 7.1 ov), 78-4 (Amit Ranjan, 7.3 ov), 87-5 (Vivek Singh, 8.4 ov), 88-6 (Biraja Tripathy, 9.1 ov), 90-7 (Alok Ckt, 9.3 ov), 101-8 (Debabrata Pattanaik, 11.4 ov), 101-9 (Jay, 11.5 ov), 102-10 (Sourav (S K Jena), 12.1 ov)
Bowling — Calcutta Challengers
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | NB | Eco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamzad | 2.1 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.31 |
| Moly | 3 | 0 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7.67 |
| Golok Bera | 3 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Abdul Rahman | 3 | 0 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 8.67 |
| Sovandeep Biswas | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.00 |
Result
Calcutta Challengers won by 64 runs — Calcutta Challengers 166/4 (15.0 Ov), The Lionss 102/10 (12.1 Ov)
- Man of the Match (all-round performance): Golok Bera — 58* (40b, 3×4, 4×6) and 2/15 (3 Ov, 7 dots, Eco 5.00)
- Calcutta Challengers: Abdul Rahman — 5/26 (3 Ov, 8 dots, Eco 8.67), including 4/8 in his last two overs; Ashutosh Maurya — 37 (23b, 4×4, 2×6); Ashish (Toxic) — 21 (13b, 3×6); Sovandeep Biswas — 20* (10b, 2×6)
- The Lionss: Sourav (S K Jena) — 30 (25b) and Best Bowler 1/13 (2 Ov, 7 dots, Eco 6.50); Alok Ckt — 22 (9b, 1×4, 2×6); Pranay Patel — 1/23 (3 Ov, 7 dots, Eco 7.67); Sanjay Pandit — 15 (10b) and 1/8 (1 Ov)
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