Kiran Salgaonkar’s all round brilliance helps Sankalpan defeat Dynamites in the AT20 Championship
It was a very crucial match for both the teams (Dynamites as well as Sankalpan) as the winner of the team would qualify to play in the 2nd eliminator match while the losing team would get eliminated straightaway. So winning the match was on both the team’s agenda.
Winning the toss, Dynamites elected to bowl first as they are known to chase well with dangerous opener like Shahen Mistry in their arsenal. Sankalpan did not had the best of the starts as they had lost 4 wickets in the first 10 overs with just 40-45 runs on the board. However, in T20 it is said that every team must have at least one Dwayne Bravo and Sankalpan were lucky to have one. Middle order batsman Kiran Salgaonkar became the saving grace coming in at no.6 and scoring a 30 ball 53 laced with 11 boundaries. Not only did the right hander took the team out of trouble but he was also entertaining to watch at the same time. Coming in at no.6 and scoring at a strike rate of 176, maybe that is what the doctor ordered!
The match was equally competitive from Dynamites side too as they lost the match by only 4 runs. They were lucky to get crucial breakthroughs and also get the aggressive opener Shahen Mistry out at the right time. Kiran was not done yet and presented a complete cricketing package for his team as he again came in and took two wickets (2/15 in 3.5 overs) with his medium pace.
The match remained exciting till the last ball and this is how a T20 match should be. Sankalpan won the match and all-rounder Kiran Salgaonkar was rightly adjudged ‘man of the match’ Sankalpan will surely have a lot of positive momentum to take ahead in their next eliminator match.
For Information-
The four teams which have reached the final stages of the tournament are-
- SKK Mavericks – Pune
- SSA Strikers – Mumbai
- Sankalpan – Mumbai
- Dynamites – Mumbai