Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2020-21 : Pondicherry Vs Andhra(Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai)

Mumbai, 15 Jan’21:

NEW RECORD CREATED BY PONDICHERRY, CHASING HIGHEST EVER TARGET IN THE DOMESTIC T20

Oh! What a site to see the Super Cyclone “Sheldon Jackson” swirl around Wankede stadium in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match between Pondicherry and Andhra.  After opting to bowl first, everyone in the Pondicherry camp would have thought it was a mistake as Andhra were coasting at a dangerous pace with the opening century partnership between Ashwin Hebbar and K.S.Bharat. After the fall of both the openers dismissed in the eleventh and twelfth over respectively, when the score was 107 for 2, there was no let down as Ambati Rayudu (52) took the score to 146 for 3 in the fifteenth over to set the stage for further onslaught in the death overs.  Eventually Andhra finished their innings at 226 for 6, setting a himalayan target of 227 runs for Pondicherry to win the match.

In reply, the poor start continued for Pondicherry when skipper Rohit was out with the score reading 27 for 1, the ever dependable run machine Paras Dogra took charge and in the company of opener S.Karthik, who scored 23, moved the score to 46 for 2 in the sixth over when Karthik holed out just behind the bowler to a poor shot.

“Sheldon Jackson”, the Super Cyclone centred at the Wankede pitch

The “eye of the Super Cyclone” reached the centre with heavy wind having started devastation in the form of Paras Dogra already pounding the attack at will with a strike of nearly 300, Sheldon Jackson and Paras Dogra took the score to 104 for 2 off 9.3 overs only to gain more strength and wreck more devastation, as the pair took the score to 144 for 3 when Paras Dogra was out for 51 off 18 balls with 6 sixes and 2 boundaries.  After Paras Dogra’s departure, Sheldon Jackson took the charge single handed.  Having reached 50 off 28 balls, Sheldon Jackson had brief partnerships with Fabid Ahmed, M.Vignesh and Sagar Trivedi; though they all contributed only in single digits, but held never to rotate strike to give the scoring opportunity to the swerving eye of the storm to take the score to 194 for 6 off 17.1 overs, still needing 33 runs for a win.

Ashith, the no.8 batsman just rotated the strike only to give the strength to the “disc” to unleash the final lethal strike on Andhra bowlers as Sheldon Jackson went on raining sixes and fours at will and massacred the morale of opponents, which was well aided by their own shortcomings with no balls and wides.

Century reached in style Sheldon Jackson reached the magic mark of century off 49 balls with a six and went on to hit one more in the last over, followed by a four to register Pondicherry’s first win of the season, and to remain unbeaten on 106 off 50 balls punctuated with 8 sixes and 7 fours.

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