Kolkata: An all-round show from Md. Kaif saw Town snatch a thrilling three wicket win against Kalighat in the second match of the opener Bengal T20 Challenge on Tuesday (November 24) played in a bio-secure environment at Eden Gardens.
Kalighat won the toss and elected to bat first. After some initial hiccups they posted a competitive 148 for seven. But Town found a way to beat them finishing at 152 for seven with two balls to spare.
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At 66 for 7 Town had all but lost the match when Azaz Ansari and Md. Kaif came together. When they had done batting Town had won the game. Kaif remained unbeaten on 58 off just 24 balls with 6 fours and 4 over boundaries, while Ansari playing perfect foil remained not out on 20 of 16 deliveries with three boundaries.
Talking about his blistering innings Kaif said, “I am very happy to win this match for my team. I believed in my ability and with every shot I became more confident. It felt very good to play cricket after long time.”
Before the duo joined forces, Kalighat dominated the proceedings picking up wickets at regular intervals. Their bowlers especially Subham Sarkar (3) and Satyaki (2) Dutta bowled with poise and control taking five wickets among themselves. But all that changed with the arrival of Kaif to the crease. He threw cautions to the wind as he scored at will taking the game away from Kalighat single-handedly.
Earlier, Kaif bowled with discipline giving away 25 runs in his alloted 4 overs and taking a wicket. For Kalighat, captain Subham Chatterjee’s 63 off just 47 balls with six boundaries and two sixes yielded no result for lack of support from his teammates. For Town Aritra Chatterjee took three wickets while Ansari took two.
