Pune: Raigad Royals dismissed PBG Kolhapur Tuskers’ skipper Rahul Tripathi on the first ball of the 11th over and turned the game on its head. Raigad defeated PBG Kolhapur Tuskers by 13 runs for their second win of the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) 2024 at the MCA International Stadium here Friday.
Two of Kolhapur’s most experienced batters – Ankit Bawne (51, 43b, 5x4s) and Rahul Tripathi (46, 19b, 5x4s, 3x6s) had stitched a second-wicket partnership of 89 runs off 49 balls to take Kolhapur to 100 for 1 at the halfway stage, needing 86 more to win.
Before that, walking in at 11 for 1, Tripathi had taken the attack to Raigad bowlers. Tripathi, moving around in the crease, unsettled pacer Manoj Ingale. He smashed Manoj’s first four balls and the final ball for boundaries. A six was sandwiched in between. The fourth over of the chase fetched 26 runs.
At the other end, Bawne was playing conservatively but more importantly sensibly. He rotated the strike well and ensured that he did send bad balls to the fence.
As Kolhapur reached the halfway point, a downpour was on the horizon. At that point, Kolhapur were 22 runs ahead of the DLS par score and it looked like Tripathi and Bawne would rain fours and sixes. But it was wickets that fell tumbling down.
Pacer Tanay Sanghavi drew an inside edge of Tripathi’s bat off the first ball of the 11th over to start the proceeding. On the first ball of the 13th, Raigad’s icon player Vicky Ostwal castled Ankit Bawne to send the set duo back to the hut.
Ingale then showed his nerves of steel to remove experienced Shrikant Mundhe (1, 2b) and Siddharth Mhatre (3, 5b) in the space of three deliveries to reduce Kolhapur to 136 for 6, the game effectively lost from a winning position.
Earlier, Raigad Royals’ skipper Vishant More (68, 47b, 6x4s, 2x6s) led from the front to propel his team to 185 for 7. More had to enter the field in the first over after Naushad Shaikh was dismissed by Nihal Tusamad for a golden duck.
Along with Mehul Patel (45, 31b, 5x4s, 1×6), who was the hero of Raigad’s win over 4S Puneri Bappa on Thursday, More set up the platform for a formidable total. Patel and More stitched 93 runs off 60 balls. The duo were helped by a poor fielding effort by PBG Kolhapur Tuskers.
PBG Kolhapur Tuskers are winless after four matches and play Chhatrapati Sambhaji Kings on June 8. Raigad Royals, take on Eagle Nashik Titans on June 9.
Brief scores: Raigad Royals: 185 for 7 in 20 overs (Vishant More 68, Mehul Patel 45; Yogesh Dongare 2-19 Nihal Tusamad 2-29) bt PBG Kolhapur Tusker: all out 172 in 19.5 (Ankit Bawne 51, Rahul Tripathi 46; Manoj Ingale 3-47) by 13 runs.
