Suraj Prahladka's 5-Wicket Haul in Vain as Cheboli Saikiran's All-Round Show Edges New Town Buddies Past CC
Man of the Match Cheboli Saikiran's 2/18 and unbeaten 28 seal a 4-wicket win for New Town Buddies, overcoming a superb 5/18 from Suraj Prahladka — who took all five Calcutta Challengers wickets to fall
New Town Buddies held their nerve to beat Calcutta Challengers by 4 wickets, chasing down 146 in 11.3 overs after CC had posted 145/8 in 13 overs. It was a genuinely close contest decided by an all-round performance from Cheboli Saikiran, who struck twice with the ball in the powerplay and then finished the chase himself with an unbeaten 28 off just 10 balls — enough to earn him the Man of the Match award. But the individual performance of the day belonged to Suraj Prahladka, whose remarkable 5/18 from 3 overs accounted for all five New Town Buddies wickets to fall and very nearly dragged CC back into a match that had threatened to get away from them.
Tanmay Karmakar & Sovandeep Biswas Lift CC to 145/8
Calcutta Challengers got off to a flier through Tanmay Karmakar, whose 36 off just 12 balls (two fours, four sixes, strike rate 300.00) set the tone early. Wickets fell steadily through the middle overs — Kuntal Bhui (15), Golok Bera (17) and captain Ashutosh Maurya (17) all made starts without going on — but Sovandeep Biswas provided the late-innings spark CC needed, smashing an unbeaten 33 off 16 balls (one four, three sixes, SR 206.25) alongside SURAJ PRAHLADKA's useful 10* to push the total to a competitive 145/8. Prashant (3/37) and Chandu (2/13) did the early damage for New Town Buddies, with cheboli saikiran also among the wickets, removing both openers inside the first two overs.
Aakash Banka & Nilesh Kumar Build New Town Buddies' Platform
Chasing 146, New Town Buddies were rocked early — three wickets down for just 12 runs inside three overs, with Suraj Prahladka striking twice in that opening burst. The recovery that followed was built almost entirely by Aakash Banka and Nilesh Kumar, who came together at 12/3 and added 86 priceless runs in under six overs. Nilesh Kumar's 49 off 23 (four fours, four sixes, SR 213.04) was the standout knock of the chase, while Aakash Banka contributed a brisk 33 off 15 (two fours, three sixes, SR 220.00) before both fell in quick succession, taking the total to 98/4 and then 103/5.
Three down for 12, then 86 added in under six overs. Aakash Banka and Nilesh Kumar's stand is what turned a chase in trouble into one New Town Buddies were always likely to win.
Suraj Prahladka's Five-Wicket Haul Falls Agonisingly Short
What Aakash Banka and Nilesh Kumar built, Suraj Prahladka spent the rest of the innings trying to tear back down — and very nearly succeeded. His final figures read 5/18 from 3 overs at an economy of just 6.00, a genuine five-wicket haul, and remarkably every single New Town Buddies wicket to fall in the innings was his: Sayak Bhandari, Abhinandan, Prashant, Aakash Banka and finally Nilesh Kumar, the last two coming in successive overs to briefly put CC right back in the contest at 103/5. No other CC bowler managed to make a breakthrough all innings. It was as complete a five-for as you'll see, and it deserves to be remembered as such even in a losing cause.
Five wickets, every single one of them a New Town Buddies batsman dismissed — Suraj Prahladka bowled the entire wicket-taking effort for Calcutta Challengers on his own, and still came agonisingly close to defending 145.
Cheboli Saikiran Seals it with Bat and Ball
With Suraj Prahladka's spell threatening a late twist, it was Dhruba Shyam's brisk 14 that briefly steadied things before he was caught and bowled by hamzad at 127/6. That brought cheboli saikiran to the crease, and he finished the job in emphatic fashion — an unbeaten 28 off just 10 balls, one four and three sixes at a strike rate of 280.00, seeing New Town Buddies home with Akash Raj (5* off 2) for company. Combined with his earlier 2/18 with the ball, it was a complete all-round display that made him the clear choice for Man of the Match, giving New Town Buddies a hard-fought 4-wicket win with nine balls to spare.
Calcutta Challengers — Batting (145/8 in 13.0 Ov)
| Batsman | Status | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanmay Karmakar (LHB) | c Prashant b cheboli saikiran | 36 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 300.00 |
| Sauvik Chaudhury | c †Dhruba Shyam b cheboli saikiran | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Kuntal Bhui | b Prashant | 15 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 150.00 |
| Golok Bera | b Chandu | 17 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 154.55 |
| Ashutosh Maurya (c) | c †Dhruba Shyam b Tublu | 17 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 141.67 |
| hamzad | c (sub) Aakash Banka b Prashant | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Raju | c Uday b Prashant | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Golam Masud | c Uday b Chandu | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Sovandeep Biswas (not out) | not out | 33 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 206.25 |
| SURAJ PRAHLADKA (not out) | not out | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 166.67 |
| Extras (wd 7, nb 2) | 9 | |||||
| Total: 13.0 Ov, 8 Wkts | 145 (CRR 11.15) | |||||
Did not bat: Paul Zomi, Anurag Dwivedi, Nepu Samader
Fall of Wickets — Calcutta Challengers
26-1 (Sauvik Chaudhury, 1.1 ov), 48-2 (Tanmay Karmakar, 3.1 ov), 73-3 (Kuntal Bhui, 5.2 ov), 80-4 (Golok Bera, 6.2 ov), 83-5 (hamzad, 7.1 ov), 83-6 (Raju, 7.2 ov), 90-7 (Golam Masud, 8.5 ov), 100-8 (Ashutosh Maurya, 10 ov)
Bowling — New Town Buddies
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | NB | Eco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nilesh Kumar | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26.00 |
| 🏆 cheboli saikiran — MOM | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 |
| Uday | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11.50 |
| Prashant | 3 | 0 | 37 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12.33 |
| Chandu | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.33 |
| Tublu | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.00 |
| Akash Raj | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18.00 |
New Town Buddies — Batting (148/6 in 11.3 Ov)
| Batsman | Status | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sayak Bhandari | c Tanmay Karmakar b SURAJ PRAHLADKA | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Abhinandan (5) (LHB) | c Golam Masud b SURAJ PRAHLADKA | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Prashant | c Raju b SURAJ PRAHLADKA | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Aakash Banka | b SURAJ PRAHLADKA | 33 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 220.00 |
| Nilesh Kumar | c Golam Masud b SURAJ PRAHLADKA | 49 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 213.04 |
| Dhruba Shyam (c) | c&b hamzad | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 200.00 |
| 🏆 cheboli saikiran (not out) | not out | 28 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 280.00 |
| Akash Raj (not out) | not out | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 250.00 |
| Extras (wd 7, nb 4) | 11 | |||||
| Total: 11.3 Ov, 6 Wkts | 148 (CRR 12.87) | |||||
Did not bat: Soumik Mondal, Arnab Podder, Chandu, Uday, Tublu, Tarun
Fall of Wickets — New Town Buddies
5-1 (Abhinandan (5), 0.5 ov), 11-2 (Sayak Bhandari, 2.2 ov), 12-3 (Prashant, 2.5 ov), 98-4 (Aakash Banka, 8.3 ov), 103-5 (Nilesh Kumar, 9 ov), 127-6 (Dhruba Shyam, 10.1 ov)
Bowling — Calcutta Challengers
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | WD | NB | Eco |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⭐ SURAJ PRAHLADKA — 5-Wicket Haul | 3 | 0 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6.00 |
| Anurag Dwivedi | 2 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.00 |
| Sauvik Chaudhury | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19.00 |
| Golok Bera | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11.50 |
| Golam Masud | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26.00 |
| hamzad | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.00 |
| Kuntal Bhui | 0.3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.00 |
Result
New Town Buddies won by 4 wickets — Calcutta Challengers 145/8 (13.0 Ov), New Town Buddies 148/6 (11.3 Ov)
- Man of the Match: cheboli saikiran — 2/18 (2 Ov) + 28* (10b, 1×4, 3×6, SR 280.00) 🏆
- 5-Wicket Haul: SURAJ PRAHLADKA — 5/18 (3 Ov, Eco 6.00) — every New Town Buddies wicket to fall ⭐
- New Town Buddies Top Scorer: Nilesh Kumar — 49 (23b, 4×4, 4×6, SR 213.04)
- New Town Buddies Support: Aakash Banka — 33 (15b, 2×4, 3×6, SR 220.00)
- CC Top Scorer: Tanmay Karmakar — 36 (12b, 2×4, 4×6, SR 300.00)
- CC Finisher: Sovandeep Biswas — 33* (16b, 1×4, 3×6, SR 206.25)
- New Town Buddies Best Bowler: Prashant — 3/37 (3 Ov)
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