Srinagar ke Veer rode a batting blitzkrieg by Sagar Ali to defeat Tiigers of Kolkata by seven wickets in a high scoring Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) encounter at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium in Thane on Wednesday evening.
Continuing his glorious run of form in the tournament, Ali plundered 51 runs off 25 balls with five hits to the fence and three towering sixes studding his unbeaten knock as Srinagar overhauled the challenging target of 88 runs with two deliveries to spare. With that knock, Ali also became the first batter in ISPL to record two consecutive fifties.
Put in to bat, Kolkata were off to a steady start with openers Moyoddin Shaikh and Fardeen Kazi scoring at a steady pace. Srinagar finally achieved a breakthrough when Kazi perished while going for a bit hit off the bowling of Prajyot Ambhire.
Shaikh anchored the Kolkata innings, emerging as the top scorer with a run-a-ball 23 before being sent back to the pavilion by Firoz Shaikh. However, Bhavesh Pawar, who smashed 17 runs off six balls with one boundary and two sixes, ensured that the runs kept coming at a fast clip alongside Subhajit Jana Dhoni, who stayed unbeaten on 10.
Chasing the challenging target, Srinagar were off to a flying start with Sagar Ali plundering 13 runs in the opening over, which yielded a total of 18 runs.
Kolkata had a glimpse of of hope when Mangesh Vaity, Akash Tarekar and Shahbaz Ahmad went back to the dugout in quick succession. However, Ali and Sanskar Dhyani ensured that Srinagar regained the upper hand with their big-hitting ability.
KVN Bangalore Strikers are playing against Majhi Mumbai in the other match later today. All matches are LIVE on Star Sports 1 (TV) and Disney+ Hotstar (OTT)
