Agri Kings Knights win thriller in Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup
Mohali, June 11
In a last-over finish, Agri Kings Knights recorded a 10-run win over Trident Stallions during the ongoing Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cricket Cup at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium. Batting first, the Knights posted 212/8, and in reply the Stallions could score 202/9 in the allotted 20 overs.
The Knights didn’t get the desired start as IPL-fame power-hitter Abhishek Sharma (3) fell prey to Gurnoor Singh Brar. Sahaj Dhawan and Mayank Gupta took the charge and helped the team recover from the early loss. However, Brar once again proved to be the lucky charm for the Stallions as he claimed Dhawan (35 off 13 balls, with two boundaries and four sixes).
Gupta, who was playing at 24, was looking good at the crease, but he was spotted short of crease by Aryaman Singh at the team’s total of 79. Thereafter, Mandeep Singh and Rahul Kumar took the charge and raised an important 57-run partnership to take the total to 136. Kumar (19 off 14 balls) was taken by Shubham Rana. Aryan Bhatia (23 off 15 balls, with one boundary and two sixes) played an important cameo to help raise a 32-run stand with Mandeep.
After Bhatia’s departure, Madhav Singh Pathania (31 off 16 balls, with four boundaries and one six) and Mandeep (60 off 35 balls, with five boundaries and one six) helped the side to achieve 212. Brar claimed a five-wicket haul for 35, while Baltej Singh Dhanda and Shubham Rana claimed one wicket each.
In reply, the Stallions had a good start with skipper Vihaan Malhotra (28 off 21 balls, with five boundaries) and Prabhsimran Singh (22 off 13 balls, with three boundaries and one six) leading from the front. However, Sahil Sharma (55 off 23 balls, with two boundaries and six sixes) and Abhay Choudhary (48 off 29 balls, with three boundaries and three sixes) brought the team close to the target. However, the loss of nine wickets pushed away the Stallions from logging a stunning win.
Ashwani Kumar (4/21) and Ayush Goyal (3/46) were the main wicket takers for the bowling side, while Sumit Sharma and Pathania picked one each.
