NAGPUR: Sometimes improbable targets bring the best out of players.
On Saturday, Team Red had a history to make in order to script a win against a quality bowling unit of Team Orange.
The quartet of Aman Mokhade, Parth Rekhade, Himanshu Joshi and Vaibhav Chandekar shook everyone with their destructive batting display. Their blitzkrieg saw them getting record 249 runs with four balls to spare in the VCA T20 tournament at Jamtha stadium.
If Team Orange notched up 248 for 3 in 20 overs - courtesy Siddhesh Wath (95 off 53b), Apoorva Wankhade (83 n.o off 39b) and Akshay Karnewar (37 n.o off 13b) - were not enough, their rivals threw kitchen sink to surpass it in a style soon after.
The Team Red now hold the record of highest score in the history of VCA's T20 tournaments and also highest at the venue. The spectacle saw a record 498 runs being scored in a T20 encounter.
After leaking way too many runs on the Jamtha flat track, skipper Jitesh Sharma took a bold decision to send Parth Rekhade (40; 19b, 6x4, 1x6) as opener with Aman Mokhade (67; 30b, 6x4, 4x6). They fearlessly gathered runs with some crisp hits straight down the ground. The openers gave little room to the experienced bowlers to try anything extra.
Though the senior offie Akshay Wakhare removed Rekhade, there was no change in fortune for Team Orange as Himanshu Joshi (55; 31b, 6x4, 2x6) carried the momentum with elegant strokes across the field.
The match was slightly tilted in favour of Team Orange when Mokhade and Sharma got out in the span of four balls and Team Red required 101 runs off 51 balls.
However, new-man Vaibhav Chandekar (52; 22b, 1x4, 6x6) nailed all the hopes his rivals had. The right-hander sent six balls out of the ground to leave the senior bowlers like Karnewar, Shubham Kapse and Wakhare clueless.
While Income Tax personnel Joshi anchored the innings, Chandekar nicely clobbered all the bowlers. They added 41 runs off 20 balls to take control of the proceedings. When they needed 58 off 30 balls, Chandekar compiled 48 runs between 17th and 19th over to get his team on the brink of victory.
Neral and R Sanjay star in Sky Blue's win
In yet another high-scoring encounter played on the same pitch, R Sanjay (95 off 55b) and Siddhesh Neral (4 for 36) helped Team Sky Blue record 10-run win over Team Yellow. Courtesy Sanjay, Sky Blue boys scored 184 for 5 in 20 overs. Later, Neral took some key wickets that restricted Team Yellow to 174 for 7. Aniruddha Choudhary managed 51 runs.
BRIEF SCORES:
Team Orange 248 for 3 in 20 overs (Siddhesh Wath 95, Apoorva Wankhade 83 n.o, ; Parth Rekhade 2-34) lost to Team Red 250 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Aman Mokhade 67, Parth Rekhade 40, Himanshu Joshi 55, Vaibhav Chandekar 52; Akshay Karnewar 2-58) by 5 wickets;
Team Sky Blue 184 for 5 in 20 overs (Ranjay 95, Ravi Jangid 24 n.o; Akshay Dullawar 2-33) beat Team Yellow 174 for 7 in 20 overs (Aniruddha Choudhary 51, Lalit Yadav 40 n.o; Siddhesh Neral 4-36, Suniket Bingewar 2-43) by 10 runs
