THUNDERS RESTRCTED BY ABHIJIT’s RUNS POUR
Thunders vs Chicago United
By Rakesh Duggirala
The long awaited ‘Red Hat’ ceremony was performed for CU debutants. CU’s ‘Men in Red’ were honored with their personal and unique player numbers. Debutants (Mursaleen, Raghu V, Rakesh, Ahmed, Pratik Patel, Zeeshan B, Dhruv Patel, Raghu S and Ayub Patel) were crowned with red CU caps.
Put into bat, CU opened with Mursaleen and Rakesh. Although, CU lost Rakesh very early on – Mursaleen scored a responsible 36 runs. Safder was retired hurt and Thunders bowled well to pick up 6 wickets for 82 in 17 overs. Runs rampage by Abhijit (104* in 51 balls) and Pratik (50* in 30 balls) built a sensational 7th wicket partnership of 162 runs setting a target of 249 runs. Ashiq of Thunders picked up 3 wickets for 54 runs. Abhijit’s 104* in 51 balls was produced from nine ‘maximums’ from all directions. Most of these runs came from great bat – timing, which Abhijit Joshi is iconic for.
Going into chasing 249 runs with 29 overs (one over penalty for late start) limit, this was an uphill task for the young Thunders. Zeeshan B’s good line, length and swing help him pick up early wickets for CU. Thunders were 62/2 in 15 overs. With several wide’s, Ayub Patel looked a little rusty. 54 runs in 46 balls was sensible bating by Fahad Khan of Thunders leading to 158 in 29 overs (one over penalty for late start).
Good win for CU while the Thunder lads, a talented bunch have lots of room to improve their skills through commitment and determination!