A blazing unbeaten 50 off 23 balls from Vijay Sharma powered the Pithoragarh Hurricanes to a thrilling last-ball win over the Dehradun Warriors in Match 6 of the Patanjali Uttarakhand Premier League 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun on Wednesday, September 18.
Vijay was the chief catalyst in the Hurricanes’ pursuit of 104 after rain reduced the contest to a 12-over-a-side affair. The Warriors posted 103/6 having been asked to bat first before their bowlers ruled the roost for the first four overs of their defense, reducing the Hurricanes to 10/2 by the end of the same.
Accurate bowling by Deepak Kumar (2/4 off two overs), Satyam Baaliyan and Abhay Negi kept the Hurricanes on a leash and ensured that the batters could never get going despite their efforts to hit out. Kumar eventually accounted for Vishal Kashyap (1 off 5) and Hitesh Naula (2 off 10) to leave the Hurricanes in disarray, after which the in-form Neeraj Rathour (28 off 24) and Vijay combined forces.
Vijay wasted no time in asserting himself, opening his account with a six off Rakshit Rohi before following it up with a boundary. Rathour was slow off the blocks but soon picked up pace with a 15-run over off Dikshanshu Negi swinging momentum the way of the Hurricanes. A stunning direct hit from substitute fielder Ashar Khan caught Rathour short of his crease in the next over though and that put the Warriors firmly back in front.
However, Parmendar Chaddha (20* off 10) had other ideas as he carted Himanshu Bisht for consecutive sixes to kickstart the tenth over, before which the equation read 43 runs off 18 deliveries for the Hurricanes. Thereafter, Vijay went into overdrive, clobbering Satyam Baaliyan in the penultimate over to bring the equation down to just eight runs needed off the last over. Abhay Negi held his nerve for a good part thereafter but with two runs required off the last ball, Vijay launched a slot delivery over long-on to seal a magnificent win for his team.
The start of the match was delayed by incessant rain right from the morning, which also saw the opener of the women’s event washed out. Eventually, a 12-over contest went on with the Warriors rocked early as the in-form sensation Sanskar Rawat (1 off 3) was prized out by Priyank Singh (1/18 off three overs) in the first over. Vaibhav Bhatt (27 off 23) and Aanjaneya Suryavanshi (25 off 22) then put on a 40-run partnership with Hurricanes skipper Akash Madhwal (0/30 off three overs) enduring yet another tough outing with the ball.
Both set batters departed to Sunny Kashyap (2/15 off two overs) but a string of cameos from skipper Aditya Tare (12 off 8), Dikshanshu (16 off 8) and Rohi (14* off 7) gave the Warriors the thrust they were after as they finished on 103/6. As it turned out though, it wasn’t enough to avoid a second defeat in three outings and they now face a situation where their last outing against the USN Indians is a must-win one.
Scores: Dehradun Warriors 103/6 in 12 overs (Vaibhav Bhatt 27 off 23, Aanjaneya Suryavanshi 25 off 22, Sunny Kashyap 2/15 off 2 overs) lost to Pithoragarh Hurricanes 109/3 in 12 overs (Vijay Sharma 50* off 23, Neeraj Rathour 28 off 24, Deepak Kumar 2/4 off 2 overs) by 7 wickets.
