Sarkar steals the show yet again for Singams

 Sarkar steals the show yet again for Singams

It was a case of left-hand drive when it came to the Chennai Singams’ eighth league tie in the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) Season 2. Opener Jagat Sarkar returned to form with a bang while new-ball bowler Jignesh Patel starred with the ball during the Singams’ clash against Srinagar Ke Veer on Thursday. Sarkar’s serious six-hitting (45, 19b, 1x4, 4x6) meant the Chennai Singams put on a 108 for six in its allotted quota of 10 overs at the Dadoji Konddev Stadium in Thane. Patel then starred with two wickets to stretch the match into the very last over. Veer’s opener Sagar Ali then smashed a six and a four to snatch the victory away from Singams with only four balls to spare.

The unfortunate result notwithstanding, the Singams remained in the fourth position in the points table, with two more league games yet to be played. In-form Ketan Mhatre started the night game on a perfect note, sending Suvronil Roy packing over long-off for a huge six in the very first over of the match. Sarkar, the left-hander, joined the party in the next over, despatching a quick one by Firoz Shaikh over deep midwicket for a six.

While Mhatre – who became only the second player to cross the 200-run mark this season – was caught out in the next over, Sarkar carried on in rich vein. When Roy was reintroduced into the attack in the fifth over, Sarkar welcomed him with three huge sixes, including two of the first two balls. The over saw Singams adding 23 runs to race to 65 for two at the halfway stage. In the next over, Sarkar’s onslaught was over as he missed his fifty by only five runs. But V. Vignesh’s cameo and Patel’s six in the last over meant Singams crossed the triple-digit mark without any fuss. Patel’s two strikes in the sixth over to dismiss Sanskar Dhyani and Lokesh meant the Veer were reduced to 37 for three in six overs. Sagar then changed the course of the match with lusty blows to tilt the game in Veer’s favour.

Chennai Singams 108/6 in 10 overs (Jagat Sarkar 45, V. Vignesh 21; Sahil Longale 2/8) lost to Srinagar Ke Veer 112/3 in 9.2 overs (Sagar Ali 49 not out, Dilip Bajwa 26 not out; Jignesh Patel 2/17).