KAR vs SAUR Pre Quarter Final-2nd-Match, SMAT 2021 (II)

Boy, what a game of cricket that turned out to be!

Opting to bat first, Saurashtra got off to a poor start and ended up losing two early wickets for a score of 10. Himalaya Barad and Vishvaraj Jadeja got dismissed for scores of four and five respectively. Arpit Vsavada came together with Sheldon Jackson, and established a 39 run stand, before getting dismissed on 26 by Cariappa. Jackson carried on his merry way and topped the charts with a 43 ball 50. Pererak Mankad added 23 runs, whereas, Samarth Vyas’ breezy knock of 17 from 10 got Saurashtra to a total of 145/7 in 20 overs.

Talking about the run chase, it was Jaydev Unadkat who led by example and picked up two early wickets of BR Sharath and Manish Pandey. Sharath was dismissed for not, whereas, Pandey could only manage to score four before getting caught at short mid-wicket. Karun Nair’s underwhelming run of form continued with the bat, as he nicked one to the keeper on Chirag Jani’s over for just five runs.  

Opening batsman Rohan Kadam scored a valuable 33 and was run out in an unfortunate manner by Jani. However, it was then the Abhinav Manohar show as he walked into bat at number five. 

Manohar’s innings was the epitome of clean hitting, as it comprised of two fours and a staggering number of six sixes while batting at a strike rate of 142. Abhinav Manohar’s batting display steadied the ship to a certain extent before it got shaky again. 

Jaydev Unadkat picked up two more wickets that got Saurashtra back into the game as he ended with a spell of 4/22. Wickets from Kushang Patel and DA Jadeja in the final few overs also added further pressure on Karnataka. But Manohar’s composed character and a six of the penultimate ball of the game got his team over the line with two wickets in hand and a ball to spare.

The debutant Manohar's knock of 70* from 49 will be one that he'll remember for a long time to come.