India Red came up with a disciplined bowling show to restrict India Green to 238 for eight in the final of NKP Salve Challenger tournament on Thursday.
Published: Oct 13, 2011, 06:33 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 13, 2011, 06:33 PM (IST)
India Green captain Harbhajan Singh score a breezy 49 during the Challenger Trophy final against India Red on Thursday © AFP
Nagpur: Oct 13, 2011
India Red came up with a disciplined bowling show to restrict India Green to 238 for eight in the final of NKP Salve Challenger tournament on Thursday.
Put into bat, India Green kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and thanks to captain Harbhajan Singh’s unbeaten knock of 49 off 54 balls with the help of three fours and a six, they could post a respectable total.
TP Sudhindra (2 for 36), Pankaj Singh (2 for 44) and Jaydev Unadkat (2 for 65) claimed two wickets each, while Piyush Chawla (1 for 48) and Yusuf Pathan (one for 6) took a wicket apiece
Mohammad Kaif (41) and Srikkanth Anirudha (39) also chipped in with the bat to contribute to the team’s total.
Yesterday’s two centurions — Robin Uthappa (7) and Srikkanth Anirudha (39) — failed to repeat their batting blitzkrieg today. The former, in fact departed in the third over itself off Unadkat’s bowling.
Anirudha though tried to go after the Reds’ bowlers but new batsman in Ishank Jaggi (11) failed to lend him a good support at the other end.
Anirudha found an able ally in Kaif and the duo put up a 34-run together before Sudhindra claimed the prized wicket of Anirudha for a 41-ball 39, studded with seven fours.
Kaif then partnered with Tirumalasetti Suman (29) to steady the boat and the two shared a crucial 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Just when things started looking bright for Greens, Yusuf Pathan took a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Suman.
In the next over, Pankaj Singh trapped Kaif LBW to put an end to his knock of 41 off 67 ball including three boundaries.
Soon, the Greens were reeling at 151 for six. But Harbhajan made sure that he led from the front.
The captain carried his bat through the innings after batting with Sumit Narwal (18), followed by Iqbal Abdulla (18) and then Abhimanyu Mithun (12 not out) to take the team beyond 200-run mark.(PTI)
Brief Scores: India Green 238 for 8 in 50 overs (Harbhajan Singh 49*, Mohammad Kaif 41; TP Sudhindra 2 for 36, Pankaj Singh 2 for 44) vs India Red
