Chand Khanna Club did not have to face an imposing target as the fourth day of Goswami Ganesh (GG) Dutt Cricket witnessed the team batting first, AIMIL, bucking the trend and failing to put up a score of over 300 for the first time in the tournament.
The result of this was that the fancied club chased the target of 247 with the loss of only five wickets. The win was powered by 92 from right-handed batsman, Ankit Kumar Singh.
Chand Khanna bowlers had done well to restrict AIMIL to 246 all out in 40 overs with bowlers Vansaj Sharma (3/36), Kartik Sidhhu (2/29), Arjun (2/44) and Bobby Yadav (2/65) sharing the wickets.
After a sedate start of 60 for the first wicket, the team lost quick wickets leaving the team facing a tough task of reaching the 300-run total.
Vikas Singh, a 25-year-old No. 4 batsman from Greater Noida, who was selected in Haryana’s Ranji Trophy camp and was a stand-bye in the state’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 team, was the star of the match as he scored 77 off 76 balls to take the team total to the eventual 246. The team was all out on the last ball of the 40th over.
“The toss was crucial. There was some benefit for bowlers early in the morning. We were 60-70 runs short on the eventual total and lost 3-4 wickets early,” said Vikas, who used to play Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) league for Pioneer Club till last year before the association’s rule of allowing only Delhi players represent clubs in the league came into force from this season.
“We also didn’t bowl well enough to create chances,” he added.
The star of the chase for Chand Khanna was another right-handed batsman Ankit Kumar Singh, who scored 92 off just 77 balls.
“We lost a wicket early, so the team coach Rajesh Nagar told me to stay at the wicket and play the entire 40 overs. Also, the target wasn’t much for this kind of wicket. I didn’t have to take any risk,” said the 24-year-old, who was once part of Delhi under-14 team in the North Zone league and is a product of Bal Bhawan School in Dwarka and Rajdhani College.
“I didn’t have to struggle because the wicket was good,” said the 24-year-old batsman who walked in to bat at No. 3.
