Hamzad's 102 Off 31 Balls Lights Up CC's Dominant 32-Run Win Over Thunder Strikers

Calcutta Challengers produced one of their most complete performances of the season, hammering Thunder Strikers by 32 runs in an extraordinary contest of big hitting and tight bowling. Batting first, CC posted a mammoth 233 for 0 in 13 overs — a total built on Hamzad’s jaw-dropping century and a destructive alliance with Miraj that lasted deep into the innings. When Thunder Strikers came to bat, they gave everything — 201 for 5 is no surrender — but a 32-run target deficit against a total like 233 proved an impossible hill. It was Tanmay Karmakar’s two-wicket spell and the ice-cool economy of Golam Masud that tilted the balance with the ball, finishing off a night that belonged entirely to Hamzad, the unanimous Man of the Match.

Hamzad and Miraj: A Partnership That Buried the Chase Before It Began

From ball one it was clear this was not going to be an ordinary evening. Hamzad opened the batting and immediately announced his intentions, picking gaps and clearing ropes with something that can only be described as controlled violence. His 102 off just 31 deliveries — studded with thirteen sixes and four fours at a strike rate of 329 — is the kind of innings that resets expectations of what is possible in a 13-over format. He attacked every bowler, every end, leaving Thunder Strikers’ seamers and spinners alike without answers. The sixes came in clusters: over deep mid-wicket, over long-on, over extra cover. Hamzad retired hurt after punishing the bowling to the tune of over a hundred — but only after he had made the result a near-certainty.

At the other end, Miraj was far from a passenger. His 66 off 33 balls — nine fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 200 — was an innings of sustained quality that would have been the headline on any other night. Between them, Hamzad and Miraj batted deep into the 11th over and constructed the foundation of a total that no 13-over chase had any realistic right to pursue. Miraj too retired hurt, his job well done, leaving the crease with the scoreboard deep in triple-figure territory.

Hamzad and Miraj in tandem: 168 runs between them, twin centuries of quality in a partnership that obliterated the bowling rotation entirely.

Tanmay Karmakar: The All-Round Performance of the Match

If Hamzad was the story with the bat, Tanmay Karmakar wrote the complete match-defining subplot. When he walked in after Miraj retired, the score read comfortably set — but Tanmay had no interest in coasting. He detonated. 48 not out off just 12 balls, seven sixes and a four at a breathtaking strike rate of 400, he added a final layer of brutality to a total that was already beyond reasonable. That 48 in the closing overs pushed CC from an already-imposing score to an outright intimidating one.

Then he came out with the ball and delivered precisely when it mattered. In a 13-over game, two wickets from two overs is enormously impactful — and Tanmay’s wickets were the right ones. He removed the dangerous Yogi Thakur (20 off 6) in the very first over of Thunder Strikers’ chase, ending a promising start before it could bloom, and returned later to bowl Aman Raj (53) at 149 — the wicket that effectively ended TS’s realistic hope of getting close. Aman had been the beating heart of the chase; Tanmay removed it. His figures of 2/33 in 2 overs tell a story of decisive, match-turning bowling at the right moments.

Tanmay Karmakar: 48* off 12 balls with the bat. 2/33 in 2 overs with the ball. If there were an all-rounder award, it would not have been close.

Golam Masud: Economy as a Weapon

In a game where most bowlers returned expensive figures against a Thunder Strikers line-up that refused to go quietly, Golam Masud stood apart with extraordinary economy. His 2 overs, 9 runs, 1 wicket at an economy of 4.50 was the most miserly spell of the entire match — a remarkable achievement given the context and the opposition’s firepower. Six dot balls in two overs tells you exactly how tight and relentless he was. He also dismissed Shan Ansari (34) at 101, the captain’s wicket at a critical juncture. In a game played at fever-pitch scoring rates, returning figures of 4.50 is not just good bowling — it is match-shaping control.

Biswajeet Dey contributed meaningfully with 2/35 in 2 overs, taking the prized scalps of the in-form Dibyagyana Behera (31) and Saikat Pobi (1), while the rest of the CC attack kept the pressure on despite conceding at higher rates against a determined lower-order resistance.

Thunder Strikers Fight Hard — A Chase Worth Watching

It would be unfair to let the margin obscure just how hard Thunder Strikers fought. Chasing 234 in 13 overs is a herculean task by any standard, and their batters made a serious match of it for the better part of ten overs. Aman Raj was magnificent: his 53 off 20 balls, five fours and five sixes at 265, was a proper counter-attacking century-calibre innings that gave the chase its best possible shape. He batted until the ninth over, and while he lasted, anything felt possible.

Shan Ansari (c) set the platform with a composed 34 off 14 balls, and Dibyagyana Behera’s 31 off 11 balls (four sixes, SR 281) in the middle order kept the required rate manageable for long enough to create genuine tension. Yogi Thakur’s explosive opening burst of 20 off 6 balls — two fours, two sixes, SR 333 — briefly suggested something special might unfold before Tanmay cut it short. Praveen, quietly effective throughout, batted through to 41 not out off 23 balls to give Thunder Strikers their backbone at the close. But chasing 233 is chasing 233: with Aman gone in the ninth over and 84 still needed off the last four, even the best will of a fighting side could not bridge the gap. Thunder Strikers finished at 201 for 5 — short, but not by as much as the scorecards might suggest.

Aman Raj’s 53, Praveen’s 41*, and the all-round effort from Thunder Strikers showed a side that never stopped fighting. On any other day, 201 in 13 overs wins matches. Tonight, it was not enough.

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Calcutta Challengers — Batting (233/0 in 13.0 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
🏆 hamzad (ret. hurt)	retired hurt	102	31	4	13	329.03
Miraj (ret. hurt)	retired hurt	66	33	9	3	200.00
Tanmay Karmakar (not out)	not out	48	12	1	7	400.00
Golam Masud (not out)	not out	10	4	2	0	250.00
Extras (nb 2, wd 5)			7
Total: 13.0 Ov, 0 Wkts			233 (CRR 17.92)

Bowling — Thunder Strikers

Bowler	O	R	W	Eco
Shan Ansari (c)	3	53	0	17.67
Aman Raj	3	39	0	13.00
Yogi Thakur	3	66	0	22.00
Saikat Pobi	3	43	0	14.33
Praveen	1	32	0	32.00

Thunder Strikers — Batting (201/5 in 13.0 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Yogi Thakur	c †Kunal Gupta b Tanmay Karmakar	20	6	2	2	333.33
Shan Ansari (c)	c (sub) Abhishek b Golam Masud	34	14	1	4	242.86
Dibyagyana Behera	c †Kunal Gupta b Biswajeet Dey	31	11	1	4	281.82
⭐ Aman Raj — Best Batter	b Tanmay Karmakar	53	20	5	5	265.00
Praveen (not out)	not out	41	23	4	3	178.26
Saikat Pobi	c Golam Masud b Biswajeet Dey	1	2	0	0	50.00
Debendra kumar sahoo (not out)	not out	11	6	2	0	183.33
Extras (nb 4, wd 6)			10
Total: 13.0 Ov, 5 Wkts			201 (CRR 15.46)

Bowling — Calcutta Challengers

Bowler	O	R	W	Eco
🏆 Tanmay Karmakar — Best Bowler / All-Rounder	2	33	2	16.50
Golam Masud — Most Economical	2	9	1	4.50
Biswajeet Dey	2	35	2	17.50
Vishal Jaiswal	2	43	0	21.50
Akash Ranjan	2	45	0	22.50
Ashutosh Maurya (c)	2	34	0	17.00
Kunal Gupta	1	2	0	2.00

Result

Calcutta Challengers won by 32 runs — CC 233/0 (13.0 Ov), Thunder Strikers 201/5 (13.0 Ov)

• Man of the Match: Hamzad — 102 rh (31b, 13×6, 4×4, SR 329.03)
• Best All-Rounder: Tanmay Karmakar — 2/33 (2 Ov, Eco 16.50) + 48* (12b, 7×6, SR 400)
• Most Economical Bowler: Golam Masud — 1/9 (2 Ov, Eco 4.50, 6 dot balls)
• Best Batter (Thunder Strikers): Aman Raj — 53 (20b, 5×4, 5×6, SR 265)

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