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The Assam T20 Pride Cup 2024 saw two interesting matches played on Monday, with City Cricket Club beating Gauhati Town Club by one wicket, and River Rine Club defeating Bud Cricket Club by two runs.
The City Cricket Club started the day with a resounding victory over the Gauhati Town Club. Both franchises began the match tied on five points, which set up for an even contest. However, the hosts set a meagre target of 110/8 in the 20 overs, which City Cricket Club overcame in 18.5 overs with one wicket to spare.
Meanwhile, in the second match of the day in the Assam T20 Pride Cup 2024, table-toppers River Rine Club posted a respectable total of 130/8 in 20 overs, aided by a 45-run innings from Roshan Basfor.
In a shortened second innings marked by a significant delay caused by rain, the River Rine Club emerged victorious over the Bud Cricket Club by two runs via the VJD method.
However, the rain started soon after the end of the sixth over, and despite hopes of play resuming at some point, the contest had to be abandoned and the result decided by the VJD method.
With their victory against the Bud Cricket Club, the River Rine Club retained their position at the top of the Assam T20 Pride Cup 2024 table with five wins out of six and an NRR of +0.970.
Meanwhile, the City Cricket Club leapfrogged to second place with three wins in five matches after defeating the Gauhati Town Club, earning seven points. They also have a healthy net run rate (NRR) of +0.649.
On the other hand, the Gauhati Town Club remained in fourth spot, having won just two matches out of six and with a dismal NRR of -0.401. The Bud Cricket Club also remained in fifth spot, also having won two matches in five but with a worse NRR of -0.518.
Kangkan Talukdar three-wicket heroics fail to clinch victory; Roshan Basfor misses half-century in rain-marred win
The match began in the worst way possible for the Gauhati Town Club, as they lost their opener Prithwirup Choudhury for a duck in the second delivery of the innings. However, a stable partnership between Bishal Sharma (33 runs off 39 deliveries) and Arnab Borah calmed the nerves a bit, and an explosive 21-run innings from Mantu Yadav led to a target of 111 runs.
However, the City Cricket Club easily chased down the total, courtesy of a 39-run innings from the opener Sanjib Barman, and a crucial 12-run innings from Pankaj Rai at the death.
Despite Gauhati Town Club’s loss against the City Cricket Club, 21-year-old Kangkan Talukdar had a game to remember, posting figures of 3/19 in four overs to become the new highest wicket-taker in the Assam T20 Pride Cup 2024.
Talukdar’s heroics took the match to the penultimate over for the Gauhati Town Club, taking the crucial wicket of Angshuman Katoni (22 runs in 28 balls) as well as that of Tajinder Singh and Shaan Singh Rana.
However, a strong start by Sanjib Barman (39 runs in 32 balls) was enough for the City Cricket Club to win the match, securing their second-placed position on the table.
Match 16 between Bud Cricket Club and River Rine Club was a disappointment as rain washed away any hopes of a full-scale match, resulting in a truncated, six-over second innings. However, the first innings had plenty to offer for cricket fans.
After the early wicket of Wasiqur Rahman, Priyangshu Singh (20 runs off 20 deliveries) and Debojit Baruah (17 runs off 16 deliveries) steadied the ship for the River Rine Club. Then the player-of-the-match innings from Basfor helped the hosts set a target of 131 runs.
Veteran batter Roshan Basfore scored 45 runs in 42 balls, hitting three sixes and one boundary on the way. He missed a well-deserved half-century when he was caught by Bikash Das from a Pushparaj Sharma delivery, but his innings helped his team post 130 runs, which eventually proved enough to win the match.
In the six-over second innings, the Bud Cricket Club scored 37/2. The visitors had a bright start courtesy of a 16* (14 balls) innings from opener Abhilash Kumar Maurya. However, the two wickets in quick succession of Manikarna Sharma and Vikash Yadav put the Bud Cricket Club under pressure.
