Soumya's Agonising 95 & Four-Man All-Round Show Fire CC Past Thunder Strikers by 18 Runs

Calcutta Challengers produced a complete team performance to defeat Thunder Strikers by 18 runs, posting a commanding 194/5 in 13 overs and then restricting the opposition to 176/7. At the centre of it all was Soumya Pradhan — who missed a century by the agonising margin of five runs but delivered a match-defining innings of 95 off 36 balls that no opposition bowling attack could have answered. A four-man all-round effort then ensured the total was defended with authority.

Soumya Pradhan: 95 Off 36 — Agony and Brilliance in One Innings

Five runs. That is all that separated Soumya Pradhan from becoming only the second Calcutta Challengers batter to score a century this season. He will replay those final balls — dismissed c&b Amit for 95 in the 12.5th over with the team on 193 — and wonder what might have been. But cricket rarely allows sentiment to override impact, and the impact of Soumya’s innings was total. 95 off 36 balls. Nine sixes. Six fours. A strike rate of 263.89. He batted through the entire 13 overs, entering at number two and only departing on the penultimate ball of the innings.

His innings was the spine of everything CC built. When Akash Ranjan fell early for 8, Soumya absorbed the pressure and began his assault. He punished anything full, cleared the straight boundary with ease and rotated strike intelligently between his aerial hitting. By the 8th over, his 50 had come up. By the 12th, he was in the 80s and the century was firmly in his sights. Amit denied him that landmark with a brilliant caught-and-bowled, but not before Soumya had made the total almost unreachable. This was an innings that won the match long before the bowling attack even took the field.

Ninety-five off thirty-six deliveries. Nine sixes. The century that never came still won Calcutta Challengers the match — that tells you everything about the quality of Soumya Pradhan’s batting.

Ayush Pathak: The Most Complete All-Round Show of the Day

While Soumya was the match-winner with the bat, Ayush Pathak was the most complete cricketer on the field. He came in at number six and immediately put his foot on the accelerator — 29 not out off 13 balls, three sixes and a four, at a strike rate of 223.08 — pushing CC past 190 in the closing overs. Then with the ball, he was outstanding: 2/22 in 3 overs, the most economical spell by any Challengers bowler on the day at just 7.33 per over. He removed both Praveen (19) and the dangerous Dibyagyana Behera (1) with sharp, well-directed deliveries. Eleven dot balls in 3 overs. Two wickets. Twenty-two runs conceded. When Thunder Strikers needed momentum, Ayush choked it at the source.

29 not out with the bat. 2 wickets and 11 dot balls with the ball. Ayush Pathak didn’t just contribute — he dominated both phases of the game.

Golam Masud: Twin Contributions at the Crucial Hour

There is a reason Golam Masud is one of the most trusted cricketers in this squad, and this match was a reminder of exactly why. Batting at number five, he counter-attacked brilliantly with 25 off 11 balls — three sixes and a four at 227.27 — at exactly the moment CC needed to press the accelerator in the middle overs. His partnership with Soumya helped push the total from 67 to 105 in the span of just three overs. Then, with Thunder Strikers chasing, Masud was equally devastating with the ball. He returned 2/32 in 3 overs, removing Debendra kumar sahoo (30) and the key wicket of captain Abdul Rahman (13), dismantling any realistic hope the Strikers had of rebuilding after the top-order collapse. Nine dot balls across his three overs kept the required rate climbing past reach.

Tanmay Karmakar: Three Wickets That Shut the Chase Down

Tasked with keeping the Thunder Strikers chase in check, Tanmay Karmakar delivered the decisive bowling spell. Three wickets in three overs — 3/45 — that read more dangerously than the economy suggested. He dismissed Yogi Thakur (12) in just the second over to remove a batter who had looked threatening from the first ball. Then, in the 6th over, he produced a burst of two wickets in two deliveries — Shan Ansari caught and bowled for 7, and Rajni Kant taken in the next ball — collapsing Thunder Strikers from 66/4 to 73/6 inside two deliveries. That double-strike in the 6th over was the match’s decisive moment; it buried any realistic hope the Strikers had of a late charge.

Thunder Strikers Fight in the Tail — But Too Little, Too Late

Chasing 195, Thunder Strikers were in serious trouble at 73/6 after the 6th over, effectively beaten by the time Tanmay completed his double-strike. But their lower order refused to surrender. Aman Raj produced a magnificent cameo of 54 not out off 21 balls — seven sixes and a four at a strike rate of 257.14 — while Bikash blazed 35 not out off 11 balls (four sixes, SR 318.18) to give the final scorecard a respectability it did not reflect for most of the innings. Their unbroken partnership added 84 runs off the last four-plus overs and lifted Thunder Strikers to 176/7 — still 18 runs short of what had always been an improbable target. Debendra kumar sahoo’s 30 off 13 (four sixes) had also threatened briefly before Golam Masud ended his stay. The fight from the tail was real. The deficit was not.

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Calcutta Challengers — Batting (194/5 in 13.0 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Akash Ranjan	c Praveen b Yogi Thakur	8	6	0	1	133.33
🏆 Soumya Pradhan	c&b Amit	95	36	6	9	263.89
Nasir Uddin Baidya	b Bikash	21	9	1	2	233.33
Tanmay Karmakar (wk)	b Abdul Rahman	7	5	0	1	140.00
Golam Masud	c †Praveen b Abdul Rahman	25	11	1	3	227.27
Ayush Pathak (not out)	not out	29	13	1	3	223.08
Biswajeet Dey (not out)	not out	1	1	0	0	100.00
Extras (wd 5, nb 3)			8
Total: 13.0 Ov, 5 Wkts			194 (CRR 14.92)

Fall of Wickets — Calcutta Challengers

9-1 (Akash Ranjan, 1.2 ov), 60-2 (Nasir Uddin Baidya, 4.5 ov), 67-3 (Tanmay Karmakar, 5.4 ov), 105-4 (Golam Masud, 8 ov), 193-5 (Soumya Pradhan, 12.5 ov)

Bowling — Thunder Strikers

Bowler	O	R	W	Eco
Shan Ansari	3	43	0	14.33
Yogi Thakur	3	46	1	15.33
Ehsan Ali	1	19	0	19.00
Bikash	1	14	1	14.00
⭐ Abdul Rahman (c) — Best Bowler	3	51	2	17.00
Amit	2	21	1	10.50

Thunder Strikers — Batting (176/7 in 13.0 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Praveen	c †Tanmay Karmakar b Ayush Pathak	19	11	2	1	172.73
Yogi Thakur	b Tanmay Karmakar	12	6	0	2	200.00
Debendra kumar sahoo	c Ayush Pathak b Golam Masud	30	13	0	4	230.77
Dibyagyana Behera	c Akash Ranjan b Ayush Pathak	1	5	0	0	20.00
Abdul Rahman (c)	c Ashutosh Maurya b Golam Masud	13	9	1	1	144.44
Shan Ansari	c&b Tanmay Karmakar	7	3	0	1	233.33
Rajni Kant	c Golam Masud b Tanmay Karmakar	0	1	0	0	0.00
⭐ Aman Raj (not out)	not out	54	21	1	7	257.14
Bikash (not out)	not out	35	11	1	4	318.18
Extras (wd 3, nb 2)			5
Total: 13.0 Ov, 7 Wkts			176 (CRR 13.54)

Fall of Wickets — Thunder Strikers

26-1 (Yogi Thakur, 1.4 ov), 60-2 (Debendra kumar sahoo, 4.2 ov), 65-3 (Dibyagyana Behera, 5.3 ov), 66-4 (Praveen, 5.5 ov), 73-5 (Shan Ansari, 6.2 ov), 73-6 (Rajni Kant, 6.3 ov), 92-7 (Abdul Rahman, 8.4 ov)

Bowling — Calcutta Challengers

Bowler	O	R	W	Eco
SURAJ PRAHLADKA	2	35	0	17.50
Tanmay Karmakar — Best Bowler	3	45	3	15.00
Golam Masud	3	32	2	10.67
Ayush Pathak — Most Economical	3	22	2	7.33
Biswajeet Dey	2	42	0	21.00

Result

Calcutta Challengers won by 18 runs — CC 194/5 (13.0 Ov), Thunder Strikers 176/7 (13.0 Ov)

• Man of the Match: Soumya Pradhan — 95 (36b, 9×6, 6×4, SR 263.89) 🏆
• Best Bowler: Tanmay Karmakar — 3/45 (3 Ov, Eco 15.00)
• Best All-Rounder: Ayush Pathak — 2/22 (3 Ov, Eco 7.33) + 29* (13b, 3×6)
• Support All-Rounder: Golam Masud — 2/32 (3 Ov) + 25 (11b, 3×6)
• Thunder Strikers Best: Aman Raj — 54* (21b, 7×6, SR 257) & Bikash — 35* (11b, 4×6, SR 318)

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