Published: Feb 24, 2019, 01:37 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 24, 2019, 01:37 PM (IST)
Assam left it late to win off the last delivery as they chased down 195 against Chhattisgarh in a high-scoring affair of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019 in Cuttack.
Assam made a remarkable recovery after losing three wickets off the first nine delivery of their chase with excellent knocks from captain Amit Sniha and Sibsankar Roy.
Shakeed Ahmed accepted a return catch to give Assam an early jolt in Rishav Das (4) before Pankaj Roy’s double-strike in the second over left them in all sorts of trouble. Steadily, they mounted a comeback – first through a 67-run partnership between Sibsankar and Amit for the fourth wicket.
Sibsankar scored 52 off 35 with six fours and two sixes before Ajay Mandal dismissed him with the first delivery of 12th over. Another wicket in the following over left Assam at 91/5 with Chhattisgarh on top and in strong position to register their third straight win of the season.
However, Amit found an abler partner in Rajjakuddin Ahmed as the duo resurrected the chase with an 104-run partnership.
Amit hit seven fours and four sixes to remain unbeaten on 77 while Ahmed scored 35* off 18 with two fours and three sixes as they clobbered 86 runs in the final five overs to seal a nail-biting win.
Assam opted to field and tasted an early success with Abu Nechim getting rid of Rishabh Tiwari in the fifth over to break a promising stand.
Chhattisgarh captain Harpreet Singh joined forces with Shashank Chandraker, steering the innings forward, taking the score past the 100-run mark.
Chandrekar left his captain after scoring 56 off 35.
Harpreet struck six fours and five sixes during his unbeaten 92 off 54 leading Chhattisgarh to a huge total. With Amandeep Khare (30*), he smashed 74 runs in the final five overs to push them to 194/2
But as it turned out, it wasn’t enough.
Brief Scores: Assam 195/5 (Amit Sinha 77*, Sibsankar Roy 52; Pankaj Kumar Rao 2/34) beat Chhattisgarh 194/2 (Harpreet Singh 92*, Shashank Chandrekar 56; Mukhtar Hussain 1/26) by five wickets
