A professional run chase by the Nainital SG Pipers saw them progress to the Eliminator of the Patanjali Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 as they beat the Pithoragarh Hurricanes by 7 wickets in Match 10 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Friday, September 21.
Having opted to field first after winning the toss, the SG Pipers were clinical with the ball as they restricted the Hurricanes to 168/9 even as some late hits took some momentum away from them. The target was almost never in doubt though as they began in grand fashion with Avneesh Sudha (13 off 7) throwing caution to the wind early on. Sudha perished in the following over but Priyanshu Khanduri (62* off 44) acted as the glue that held the innings together, keeping the runs coming at a decent clip.
Kartil Bhatt (40 off 31) gave Khanduri good company as the duo raised a second wicket partnership worth 74 runs for the second wicket. It was Sunny Kashyap who broke the stand in the tenth over to breathe some life into the contest although that was all but a momentary ray of hope with Bhanu Pratap Singh (33 off 21) taking the game away from the Hurricanes for good with a quickfire cameo.
Wicket-keeper batter Prateek Pandey (18* off 15) also made his presence felt as they all rallied around Khanduri, who notched up an excellent fifty. Almost always staying ahead of the eight-ball curve, the SG Pipers took minimal risks and largely did it in singles to romp home and book a berth in the Eliminator.
If the batters were sublime, the bowlers were clinical earlier in the day. Skipper Rajan Kumar (3/35 off four overs) set the tone with the scalp of Ashish Joshi (0 off 2) in the opening over of the contest. A couple of decent partnerships then followed, first for the second wicket between Nikhil Harsh (37 off 29) and Aditya Naithani (18 off 17) and then for the third between Harsh and Neeraj Rathour (18 off 11), with Rathour in particular continuing to show ominous signs.
Naveen Kumar Singh (2/16 off four overs) then landed a couple of killer blows, removing Rathour and the destructive Vijay Sharma in the ninth over as the wheels came off for the Hurricanes. Harsh’s departure also made life difficult as they completely lost their way with regular wickets.
At one stage, even 150 looked a far cry but some late hits off the bat of Priyank Singh (23 off 9), who struck three sixes, carried the team close to the 170-mark. Eventually though, it proved to be well short of what was a defendable score as the SG Pipers cruised home to pocket the second spot on the table.
The Hurricanes did secure qualification prior to this match and having finished third on the table, they will face the SG Pipers again on Saturday, September 21, for a berth in the final. The result meant that the Dehradun Warriors, who lost to the USN Indians earlier in the day, were knocked out. USN, on the other hand, have already made it to the summit clash having won each of their four round-robin contests.
Scores: Pithoragarh Hurricanes 168/9 in 20 overs (Nikhil Harsh 37 off 29, Vishal Kashyap 40 off 30, Rajan Kumar 3/35 off four overs) lost to Nainital SG Pipers 172/3 in 19.3 overs (Priyanshu Khanduri 62* off 44, Kartik Bhatt 40 off 31, Akash Madhwal 1/21 off four overs) by 7 wickets.
