Kshitiz's All-Round Masterclass Leads Garuda Squad to Dominant 71-Run Victory Over Super Knockers in SHARBHA 2.0

April 6, 2026

MATCH REPORT — SHARBHA 2.0 LEAGUE | POWERED BY CRIC TALENTS

KOLKATA, INDIA — Man of the Match Kshitiz delivered a commanding all-round performance as Garuda Squad cruised to a comprehensive 71-run victory over Super Knockers in a league match of the SHARBHA 2.0 tournament. After smashing a blistering 27 off 17 balls (4 fours, SR 158.82) to set up Garuda's imposing 159/8, Kshitiz returned with the ball to claim 3 wickets for 23 runs in 4 overs — bowling 12 dot balls — as Super Knockers were bowled out for just 88 in 12.5 overs.

First Innings: Garuda Squad — 159/8 (18 overs)

Garuda Squad posted a formidable total built on contributions across the order. Multiple batsmen got starts and converted them into meaningful scores, ensuring a healthy run rate of 8.83 throughout the innings.

Kshitiz — 27 off 17 (4 fours, SR 158.82)

Opening the batting, Kshitiz set the tone with an aggressive 27 off just 17 balls, striking 4 crisp boundaries to get Garuda off to a flying start. His intent was clear from ball one — punishing anything short or wide and rotating strike efficiently. His partnership with Akshay put on 45 for the first wicket before Kshitiz was run out by Arindam Sarkar in the 6th over. The platform he laid proved crucial for what followed.

Key Batting Contributions

• Akshay (26 off 39, 1 four, SR 66.67) — the left-hander played the anchor role to perfection, occupying the crease for 79 minutes and providing stability while others attacked around him. Consumed balls to build a base — exactly what the team needed at the top
• Devraj Bhattacharya (26 off 15, 1 four, 2 sixes, SR 173.33) — an explosive middle-order cameo that accelerated the scoring in the middle overs. His 2 sixes were towering hits that shifted momentum firmly in Garuda's favour
• Sandeep Sharma (20 off 14, 2 fours, 1 six, SR 142.86) — another composed contribution at number 4, mixing smart rotation with boundary-hitting to keep the rate above 8
• Vivek (17 off 9, 2 sixes, SR 188.89) — the left-hander produced a quickfire cameo, launching 2 sixes in his brief stay to push the total past 150. Run out by Kaushik Roy at 158/7
• Aman (13* off 6, 1 six, SR 216.67) — an unbeaten cameo at number 8 that provided the finishing punch in the death overs
• Raj Jaiswal (8 off 3, 1 six, SR 266.67) — brief but brutal. One massive six in just 3 balls before being run out

The beauty of Garuda's innings was its collective nature — seven batsmen scored 8 or more, spreading the responsibility and never allowing Super Knockers' bowlers to settle.

Super Knockers' Bowling

Super Knockers used 8 bowlers in an attempt to contain Garuda, with mixed results:

• Dharam Paramanik: 2-0-13-0 (Eco 6.50) — the most economical bowler with 6 dot balls, providing control in the middle overs
• Kaushik Roy: 4-0-28-2 (Eco 7.00) — the standout with the ball. Picked up Vishwajeet Raj (caught by Nishant Gupta) and Devraj Bhattacharya (caught by Bua), also effected a run out of Vivek. His 10 dot balls showed excellent discipline
• Mainak Dey: 2-0-14-0 (Eco 7.00) — tidy spell with 6 dot balls, but also ran out Dev Shankar with sharp fielding
• Gourav: 3-0-26-0 (Eco 8.67) — went wicketless but kept things reasonable
• Shomick Ganguly: 2-0-18-1 (Eco 9.00) — claimed the important wicket of Sandeep Sharma (LBW)
• Manojit Mukherjee: 3-0-28-0 (Eco 9.33) — expensive but bowled 3 overs which helped share the load
• Abbhishek Sehgal: 1-0-12-0 (Eco 12.00) and Sagar Sen: 1-0-16-0 (Eco 16.00) — expensive single-over spells

Three of Garuda's eight wickets were run outs — credit to Super Knockers' fielding, particularly Nishant Gupta, Arindam Sarkar, Anshu Gupta, and Mainak Dey who were all involved in direct hits or sharp throws.

Second Innings: Super Knockers — 88/10 (12.5 overs) | Target: 160

Chasing 160, Super Knockers never really got going. Garuda Squad's bowlers were relentless from the start, making early inroads that put the chasing team permanently behind the required rate.

The Top-Order Struggle

The chase began disastrously. Nishant Gupta (2 off 10) consumed 15 balls for just 2 runs before being caught by Vishwajeet Raj off Kshitiz in the 3rd over. In the very same over, Anshu Gupta departed — the score reading 21/2.

Anshu Gupta (17 off 10, 1 four, 2 sixes, SR 170.00) was the one bright spot at the top, playing some aggressive shots before being caught by Amit Jais off Sandeep Sharma. His brief counter-attack was the only time Super Knockers looked threatening.

The Middle-Order Collapse

• Abbhishek Sehgal (13 off 14, 2 fours, SR 92.86) — tried to rebuild but was bowled by Kshitiz at 35/3
• Manojit Mukherjee (8 off 7, 1 six, SR 114.29) — showed intent but fell LBW to Kshitiz at 44/4. Three wickets for Kshitiz now
• Mainak Dey (7 off 6, 1 four, SR 116.67) — run out by Akshay at 51/5
• Dharam Paramanik (10 off 7, 1 six, SR 142.86) — a mini-fightback with a six, but caught by Vivek off Amit Jais at 66/6
• Sagar Sen (4 off 5, SR 80.00) — caught by Raj Jaiswal off Amit Jais at 67/7

From 21/2, Super Knockers slid to 67/7 as Garuda's bowlers strangled the run flow and picked up wickets at regular intervals. The required rate climbed beyond 15 per over, and with it, any realistic hope of victory.

Late Resistance — Bua's Cameo

Bua (13 off 7, 2 sixes, SR 185.71) provided the only real entertainment in the lower order with two big sixes that briefly raised hopes. But once he was bowled by Amit Jais at 83/9, the end came swiftly. Captain Arindam Sarkar (0 off 0) was run out by Sandeep Sharma without facing a ball, and Kaushik Roy (4 off 7) was the last man out, caught by Dev Shankar off Naitik Sharma.

Man of the Match: Kshitiz — 27(17) & 3/23 (4 overs)

Kshitiz was the complete cricketer on display. His 27 off 17 set the tone at the top — aggressive, purposeful, and boundary-laden. Then with the ball, he was simply outstanding: 3 wickets for 23 runs in his full quota of 4 overs, bowling a remarkable 12 dot balls — the most by any bowler in the match. He dismissed Nishant Gupta (caught), Abbhishek Sehgal (bowled), and Manojit Mukherjee (LBW), breaking the spine of the Super Knockers batting. His economy of 5.75 in a T20 match is elite-level control.

Garuda Squad's Bowling Attack — Clinical & Collective

• Kshitiz: 4-0-23-3 (Eco 5.75) — MOM. 12 dot balls. Broke the top and middle order
• Amit Jais: 2-0-17-3 (Eco 8.50) — equally devastating with 3 wickets in just 2 overs. Dismissed Anshu Gupta, Dharam Paramanik, Sagar Sen, and bowled Bua — the cleanup man at the death
• Naitik Sharma: 2.5-0-20-1 (Eco 7.06) — the left-armer took the final wicket (Kaushik Roy) and bowled 8 dot balls for excellent control
• Sandeep Sharma: 2-0-15-1 (Eco 7.50) — dismissed Anshu Gupta with a sharp catch by Amit Jais, and effected the run out of captain Arindam Sarkar. 9 dot balls in 2 overs
• Vishwajeet Raj: 2-0-12-0 (Eco 6.00) — wicketless but extremely economical with 6 dot balls, building pressure from one end

Garuda's bowlers collectively bowled 47 dot balls out of 77 deliveries — an astonishing dot ball percentage of 61%. Super Knockers simply couldn't score freely.

Key Takeaways

• Kshitiz's dual impact — 27(17) with bat + 3/23 with ball — was the decisive factor. His ability to contribute in both departments made him an obvious MOM choice
• Garuda's batting depth was remarkable — 7 batsmen scored 8+, with contributions ranging from Akshay's patient 26(39) anchor to Raj Jaiswal's explosive 8(3)
• Devraj Bhattacharya's 26 off 15 (2 sixes) in the middle overs accelerated the scoring at a crucial phase
• Anshu Gupta's 17 off 10 (2 sixes) was the only real resistance from Super Knockers — his dismissal at 21/2 ended their best chance
• Amit Jais quietly took 3 wickets in just 2 overs — a devastating strike rate that complemented Kshitiz's control bowling
• Super Knockers' 61% dot ball rate tells the story — they were suffocated by Garuda's disciplined attack and could never get the required rate under control
• 3 run outs in each innings showed both teams' commitment to fielding standards in a tournament that values athletic cricket
• Kaushik Roy (2/28, 10 dots) was Super Knockers' best bowler, but received insufficient support from the batting lineup