BHARAT Rangers consolidated their position at the top with a close win over India Warriors via DLS method in a rain-curtailed match of Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 here at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium. Needing 180 to win before light drizzle stopped play for around 35 minutes, India Warriors were 48-2 in 8.3 overs. But the revised target of 131 in 14 overs could not be achieved as they lost the match by eight runs. India Warriors needed 26 runs from the last over bowled by Kunal Kungwani but captain Shubham Dubey (35*; 16b, 1x4, 4x6) could manage 17 runs with the help of two sixes and a boundary to fall short of the target. India Warriors had a horrible start as they lost two wickets in the first over. Impact Substitute Vaibhav Lande scored 58 runs at the top but was trapped in front by Shubham Kapse in the 11th over.

 

From there on it was a chasing game for them. Earlier, Jagjot Sasan finally displayed his precious talent with a responsible half century after Atharva Taide slammed his second fifty of the tournament as Bharat Rangers posted a challenging 179-8 on a slow Jamtha track. Captain Taide’s knock at the top and Sasan’s middle-order stability saw Bharat Rangers reach that total. The top-middle order failed to fire with Danish Malewar returning without opening his account. Vedant Jajoo was once again unimpressive scoring only nine runs. Manan Agrawal (7) too could not contribute with the bat leaving it on Sasan to do the job. If Taide scored at a brisk rate scoring his 51 from 33 deliveries with six boundaries and three sixes, Sasan built his innings cautiously. He rotated the strike with Aditya Sarvate (27*) to keep the scoreboard ticking. It was only after 16th over that Sasan freed his arms and hit two boundaries and four maximums. His two sixes came from Darshan Nalkande’s last over. Sasan and Sarvate posted 76 runs for the seventh wicket. Sarvate’s 27 from came from 20 balls. India Warriors spinners must be credited for their exceptional line and length for restricting the run flow. Gurdeep Sodhi (3- 31) and Kunal Nagar (3-20) shared six wickets between them while pacers Praful Hinge and Darshan Nalkande took a wicket each.