KOLKATA: Disappointed was written all over Harbour Diamonds’ skipper Manoj Tiwary’s face as they suffered their second defeat of Bengal Pro T20 League going down to Shrachi Rarh Tigers by 23 runs at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
In spite of having their opponents under control, the Diamonds faltered in the death overs when Tigers collected 59 off the last five overs to put up a commanding 141 for seven in 20 overs after opting to bat on winning the toss.
The star performers for the Tigers were Arindam Ghosh (unbeaten 54) and skipper Shahbaz Ahmed. Railways batter Ghosh showed composure as he paced his innings well to stay there till the end smashing five boundaries and one six while facing 46 deliveries.
Skipper Shahbaz too played a quickfire innings hitting two fours and two sixes to put the rival attack under pressure.
For Harbour Diamonds, pacer Md Kaif bagged three for 17.
Sayan Sekhar Mondal kept Harbour Diamonds’ hopes alive with a fine 45-ball 51 with the help of four fours and one six. Veteran Arnab Nandi provided the Tigers early advantage by dismissing skipper Tiwary, who came up the order this time and opener Abhijeet Bhagat to finish with two for 21.
Shahbaz kept things tight in the middle, ending up picking two for 17 while Suman Das claimed two for 22.
Harbour Diamonds’ last-match hero Prayas Ray Barman and Badal Balyan failed to live up to the challenge as the team fell short, scoring 118 for seven in 20 overs.
