A stunning one-man effort from Shashwat Dangwal (77 off 46) wasn’t enough for the Haridwar Spring Elmas as they went down by 20 runs to the Nainital SG Pipers in Match 4 of the Patanjali Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Tuesday, September 17.
Chasing a daunting total of 190, the Spring Elmas were derailed by Nikhil Pundir’s incredible opening spell. Pundir (3/23 off four overs) removed Himanshu Sony (1 off 2), Kunal Veer Singh (5 off 6) and the in-form Saurabh Rawat (5 off 5) in the powerplay with Aditya Sethi (1/19 off four overs) castling skipper Ravikumar Samarth (3 off 6) in between.
It seemed like the Spring Elmas would never recover from that hopeless situation as they sunk to 51/5 and then 103/7 with Mayank Mishra (3/28 off four overs) also making his presence felt with the ball. Sparsh Joshi (16 off 9) and Girish Raturi (14 off 6) chipped in with flashy cameos but it was Dangwal who stood tall as he put on an exhibition of counter-attacking batting, raising a clinical half-century to keep the opposition on their toes.
A 54-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Prashant Kumar Bhati (20 off 15) suddenly breathed life into the contest, with Dangwal taking down Naveen Kumar Singh for four sixes in the 17th over. 36 runs were required off the last three overs but an outstanding three-run over from Avneesh Sudha built the pressure on the Spring Elmas. The writing was soon on the wall once Dangwal holed out off the first ball of the penultimate over, post which the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Nainital SG Pipers’ batting essay was headlined by an aggressive start and a rapid finish, with a slowdown sandwiched in between. Openers Sudha (11 off 11) and Priyanshu Khanduri (56 off 31) got off to a quickfire start, posting 32 runs off the first three overs. The moment spin was introduced though, the Spring Elmas were able to apply a choke. Left-arm spinner Harman Singh (2/17 off four overs) sent Sudha packing in the fourth over and while Khanduri continued to go about his merry ways, there wasn’t a lot happening at the other end.
The Spring Elmas took due advantage of the same with Harman bagging another one and skipper Samarth (3/27 off four overs) also joining the party as he castled Khanduri. There were clear signs of turn and purchase on offer for the spinners and they proved difficult to put away. The Spring Elmas had an added spring into their step courtesy their fielding with Samarth’s sharp throw running Harsh Rana out and Rawat stumping the set Bhanu Pratap Singh (35 off 31).
Once it was back to pace though, the SG Pipers powered along in the slog overs. Aarush Melkani (32* off 17) and skipper Rajan Kumar (29 off 13) were at their destructive best, clobbering the ball over the fence at will to rack up 64 runs off the last four overs. Rajan provided the impetus first before Melkani picked up, with his helicopter shot that sailed a mile over mid-wicket in the last over standing out. 189/7 is what they finished with and that eventually proved more than sufficient for the SG Pipers’ first win of UPL 2024.
Scores: Nainital SG Pipers 189/7 in 20 overs (Priyanshu Khanduri 56 off 31, Aarush Melkani 32* off 17, Ravikumar Samarth 3/27 off four overs) beat Haridwar Spring Elmas 169/9 in 20 overs (Shashwat Dangwal 77 off 46, Prashant Kumar Bhati 20 off 15, Nikhil Pundir 3/23 off four overs) by 20 runs.
