BPL: Debajyoti-Subhajit partnership steers Strikers to victory; Raihan’s Lions storm to a huge win

By barakbulletin On March 12, 2022 - 6:37 pm

The day two of Pankaj Deb Memorial Barak Premier League saw some great all-around performances. In the first match of the day, Barak Bulletin Strikers took on the Silchar Avengers. Winning the toss, Barak Bulletin skipper Subham Deb put the Avengers to bat first.

The trick to start with a spinner paid off as Subhajit Paul picked up an early wicket to break the opening partnership. Since then, the Avengers lacked momentum. Mantu Das partnered Paul well and both of them bowled five economical overs in the power play. Left-arm orthodox bowler, Sudarshan Sinha picked up the wicket of Saurav Sinha (1) and another left-arm spinner in the team, Chiranjiv De sent hard-hitting Soumitra Sankar (18/12).

The find of the Barak Bulletin Strikers’ bowling attack is youngster Anurag Sinha. Youngest player of the tournament, Sinha bowled responsibly to contain the Avengers. He ended his spell of four overs with two wickets after conceding 19 runs. A late attack from Shamim Ahmed (23) and Subrata Sinha (32) took Avengers to a respectable score. At one stage, it looked like Avengers will touch the 140 mark but the brilliant death over spell from Subham Deb restricted the Avengers to 118. Deb picked up two wickets conceding only 8 runs.

Former district cricketer and current Silchar DSA’s Cricket Secretary, Niranjan Das handing over jersey to Barak Bulletin Strikers’ vice captain Aman Singh

Chasing only 118 runs, Strikers got off to a flyer. Opener Aman Singh scored 20 runs of the very first over of the innings. However, a batting collapse followed next. Singh took one risk too many and got caught at mid-wicket by Rahul Baidya of Shamim Ahmed Mir’s bowling. Prashant Kumar got dismissed first ball and captain Subham Deb lost his wicked for six. Anirban Roy Choudhury too failed to open his account as he was adjudged LBW of the very first ball he faced. All three wickets were picked by Gaurav Nath.

But then came in Subhajit Paul and along with opener Debajyoti Bhattacharjee, bailed the team out of trouble. What looked like Barak Bulletin Strikers would sink at the shore, both of them steadied the ship and sailed through the innings. Debajyoti scrored 45 runs of 56 balls with the help of two huge sixes and remained not out. For his unbeaten knock of 42 runs of 38 balls and two wickets after conceding just seven runs, Subhajit Paul was awarded the Man Of The Match. Strikers will now take on the Moonlight Dholai in the quarter-final match.

In the second match of the day, star-studded Silchar Lions defeated the Gumrah Walkers. Batting first, the Lions failed to get off to a good start. Star batter Parth Bali (10) was dismissed early. Railways Player Vikas Choudhary failed to open the account and Masarob Hussain went to the pavilion after scoring 17 runs. Former junior India player, Parvez Aziz steered the innings scoring 33 runs of 28 balls. But experienced campaigner, Silchar’s Raihan Jomeel Mazumdar played the innings that made the difference. He scored 50 of 44 balls and took the team to 146. The cameo from Nitish Rawat (27 of 15) too played a pivotal role in setting the formidable score.

Gumrah Walkers never looked like they would chase the total. While there were bits and pieces of good stroke playing, they lacked maturity. Al Aman Mazumdar’s 22 was the highest scorer for the Walkers. Raju Pandey was the pick of the bowlers as he picked three wickets. Parth Bali, Parvez Aziz, Nitish Rawat picked two wickets each. Raihan Jomeel Mazumdar was adjudged the man of the match by the panel.