The Saurashtra Premier League weekend is finally here. The double-header on Saturday saw many twists and turns on the points table. In the afternoon game, Zalawad Royals edged out Kutch Warriors in a nail-biting encounter.
In the second fixture of the day, Sorath Lions faced their third straight defeat of the tournament, this time at the hands of Halar Heroes. Sorath Lions become the first team to get eliminated from SPL 2023.
What happened in Kutch Warriors vs Zalawad Royals?
Kutch Warriors won the toss and elected to bat. Their own decision came back to haunt them, as they were only able to post a moderate target at the end of the first innings. The Warriors got cleaned up for 140 in the last over.
Openers Aryandev Jhala (32 off 18) and Samarth Vyas (26 off 12) gave the ideal start to the Warriors, after which they fell off like a pack of cards. Parth Bhut (4-17) and Mohit Goraniya (2-21) were the pick of the bowlers for the Zalawad Royals.
In response, the Royals took the chase to the last over. They scored 141 runs in 19.3 overs, with seven wickets in hand. Skipper Sheldon Jackson played a match-wining innings of 55 runs off 47 deliveries. He was ably supported by Amit Ranjan (44 off 35). Parswaraj Rana picked all three wickets for the Kutch Warriors (3-28).
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What happened in Sorath Lions vs Halar Heroes?
Just like Kutch Warriors, Sorath Lions won the toss and elected to bat. However, unlike Kutch Warriors, Sorath Lions posted a decent total (186/3) after choosing to bat first. Opening batter Tarang Gohel scored a brilliant century - 101* off 55 - as he batted through the 20 overs.
Hitendra Jadeja provided ample of support towards the end, as the 31-year-old scored 30 runs off just 14 deliveries. Sammar Gajjar continued his fantastic form as he ended his four-over spell with the figures of 2/23.
In response, Halar Heroes' heroics silenced the roar of the Sorath Lions. It was a complete team performance from the Heroes in the second inning. Snell Patel (29) and Jay Gohil (19) provided the impetus at the start of the innings.
A 119-run match-winning partnership between Divyaraj Chauhan (54 off 36) and Jay Ahir (72 off 40) did the trick for Halar Heroes. Jay Ahir set the epitome of being an impact player with his performance against the Sorath Lions.
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