Neeraj Rathour (73 off 49) and Vijay Sharma (50* off 22) pulled the Pithoragarh Hurricanes out of a hole and vaulted them to a facile 5-wicket win over Haridwar Spring Elmas in Match 2 of the Patanjali Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Monday, September 16.
Having won the toss and opted to field first, the Hurricanes blew hot and cold as the Spring Elmas posted a massive score of 195/5 on the back of solid contributions from Ravikumar Samarth (60 off 39), Saurav Chauhan (46* off 15) and Saurabh Rawat (31 off 19). In response, the Hurricanes got off to a dodgy start as Aditya Naithani (0 off 2) and Vishal Kashyap (1 off 7) were dismissed inside the first two overs. A resurrection act then followed from Hitesh Naula (38 off 24) and Rathour as they put together a partnership of 73 for the third wicket.
Naula was the aggressor between the two with Rathour taking some time to get his eye in. The Hurricanes were still behind the asking rate though and the pressure told as Naula perished in the tenth over and Anmol Shah (12 off 12) struggled during the course of his stay in the middle. The onus then fell on Rathour to make it count and so he did, registering a gutsy half-century with batter Vijay giving him company.
The duo ensured that the asking rate did not reach an exorbitant one even as 63 runs were required off the last five overs. Both batters found the fence regularly with Rathour even bringing out his inner Rishabh Pant with a couple of reverse laps in the 17th over bowled by Prashant Bhati (2/34). Aditya Sharma copped plenty in the 18th over even as he eventually accounted for Rathour’s wicket. The damage was done though and consistent hitting from Vijay brought it down to just four runs required off the final over. He fittingly had the final say in the outcome as he swung Girish Rauturi for a six to raise his half-century and score the winning runs.
Earlier, The Spring Elmas picked up from where they left off with the bat last evening. Only this time, they got off to a rollicking start with skipper Ravikumar Samarth (60 off 39) and opening partner Daksh Awana (24 off 23) stating their intentions in the powerplay, racing along to 54 in the first six overs. Their partnership of 60 was brought to an end by Rohit Dangwal (1/27 off three overs), who got Awana attempting a slog sweep before it landed into the hands of wicket-keeper Vijay.
Dangwal and Aryan Chaudhary (1/40 off four overs) slowed the pace down in the middle-overs as the spinners proved difficult to put away. The pressure eventually told on Kunal Veer Singh (12 off 13) as he chopped the ball onto his stumps off Hurricanes captain Akash Madhwal (1/45 off four overs). Samarth continued with his merry ways though, bringing up a fifty with a brilliant reverse-hit but was eventually stumped at the start of the 15th over. That’s when Saurav Chauhan announced his arrival to the competition with a blitzkrieg of the highest order to propel the Spring Elmas in the death overs.
Last night’s hero Saurabh Rawat started slow but caught up himself to register a brisk cameo. The 17th over of the innings saw Chaudhary carted for 25 runs including four big hits over the fence as Chauhan struck three of those off consecutive deliveries. Momentum was truly on the Spring Elmas’ side thereafter as they posted a mammoth 195, with a whopping 68 runs coming off the last four overs. But as things eventually turned out, the Hurricanes were too good for the Spring Elmas bowlers on the day.
Scores: Haridwar Spring Elmas 195/5 in 20 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 60 off 39, Saurav Chauhan 46* off 15, Sunny Kashyap 1/25 off four overs) lost to Pithoragarh Hurricanes 199/6 in 19.3 overs (Neeraj Rathour 73* off 49, Vijay Sharma 50* off 22, Aditya Rawat 2/44 off four overs) by four wickets.
