A clinical bowling and fielding display by the USN Indians set up a resounding seven-wicket win over Pithoragarh Hurricanes in their Patanjali Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Tuesday, September 17.
Having won the toss and elected to field first, USN Indians were on the money from the word go, having bowled tight lines and held onto their catches after rain delayed the start of the contest, which was the fifth of UPL 2024. A collective effort saw them skittle the Hurricanes out for a paltry total of 77, which was never going to be enough to defend.
In response, skipper Kunal Chandela (21 off 20) got the USN Indians off to a flying start. While Shivam Gupta (2/12 off two overs) landed a double-whammy in the third over to remove Yuvraj Chaudhary (3 off 6) and Aarav Mahajan (0 off 1), Chandela and Aryan Sharma (30* off 18) ensured there were no further hiccups and the chase was a rather straightforward one.
It was evident that boosting their net run-rate was on the minds of the batters as they continued to take the positive route. Chandela retired hurt, however, but a shoddy bowling display by the Hurricanes – they conceded 23 extras including 18 wides – summed up a forgettable outing on the park as the USN Indians cruised home with 74 deliveries to spare.
Just nothing went right for the Hurricanes having lost the toss and then being required to bat on a surface which was under the covers for a decent amount of time. Left-arm seamer Agrim Tiwari (2/18 off 2.4 overs) landed the first blow as Hitesh Naula (0 off 6) succumbed to the pressure of too many dots. He ended up chipping the ball into the hands of Chandela who pulled off a superb diving catch at mid-on.
His opening partner Vishal Kashyap (6 off 6) fell in the following over before Rahul Negi bowled with serious heat, castling the in-form Neeraj Rathour (13 off 15) with a scorching yorker to spell further trouble for the Hurricanes. Thereafter, the wheels just came off for the batting side with chaotic running and three run outs signifying the mess they found themselves in. Chaudhary (1/15 off four overs), who made heads turn with his load-up which was akin to a certain Sunil Narine, accounted for two of those run outs. Devendra Bora (2/7 off three overs) and Prashant Chauhan (1/9 off four overs) also turned in neat spells of bowling to tie the batters down.
Only three Hurricanes batters crossed double-figures with Sunny Kashyap top-scoring with 18 off 16 deliveries. His was the last wicket to fall though as Tiwari trapped him in front to bring the curtains down on a sorry batting display. The Hurricanes’ net run-rate has now taken a nosedive after this heavy defeat, their of UPL 2024.
Scores: Pithoragarh Hurricanes 77 all out in 17.4 overs (Neeraj Rathour 13 off 15, Sunny Kashyap 18 off 16, Devendra Bora 2/9 off three overs) lost to USN Indians 78/3 in 7.4 overs (Aryan Sharma 30* off 18, Kunal Chandela 21 off 20, Shivam Gupta 2/12 off two overs) by 7 wickets.
