Match Report: Finishers hold their nerve in a nail-biting finish

A league match of the T20 Champions League was played between Finishers and Royal Mavericks Cricket Club. The game was played at the Haryana Cricket Academy, New Delhi on 9th July 2022. Finishers won the toss and opted to bat first. 

Finshers’ innings was all about one man. Opener Ishal Sharma played a scintillating knock which single-handedly propelled them to a respectable total. He scored a brilliant 90 off just 56 balls. He smashed 5 fours and 4 sixes in his innings. Wickets kept falling regularly and nobody could forge a partnership with Ishal. Deepak (13) and Vishal (13) were the only other batters to cross the double-figure mark. Riding on Ishal’s superb knock, finishers were able to post 151-10 on the board.

The Royal Mavericks bowled brilliantly. Opening bowler Sajan Choudhary returned with fantastic figures of 3-24 in his four overs. He was ably supported by Avinash Yadav who also took 3-24 in his three overs. Sehrawat and Abhinav also bowled economical spells.

Royal Mavericks needed 152 runs to win. Sunil Rawat and Siddharth Bathla (21) put them in a commanding position with a second-wicket partnership of 91 off just 69 balls. Sunil Rawat played superbly for his 65 runs off just 47 balls. At 100-2, the Royal Mavericks needed just 52 runs from 45 balls, and it seemed like a cakewalk for them. However, the finishers were not finished yet. They kept chipping with wickets and ensured the match was headed for a nail-biting finish. Ishan bowled brilliantly and finished with the figures of 2-28 from his four overs. Batting hero Ishal Sharma also contributed with the ball by scalping two wickets for just 29 runs. Manjeet Singh (15) and Kulvinder Goraya (19) carried the chase forward for the Royal Mavericks. Finally, the match came down to the last over.

Royal Mavericks needed just 6 runs in the last over with 4 wickets in their hand. Clearly, they were the favourites to win this match. However, Pradeep Sharma held his nerve and bowled a fantastic final over. Royal Mavericks needed 3 runs off the last ball and Rajesh Rajput was run out while taking the second run. The finishers won this thriller of a contest by just one run. No doubt Ishal Sharma was selected as the man of the match for his all-round show.

-Charvak Naik

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