MK vs SSM

Mukesh Kumar, Sobisco Smashers Malda : Wicket was slow at the start and we saw that the bounce was less so I adjusted accordingly. Sudip always stays in the front so the plan was to keep it on the shorter side, allow the ball to move because I did see that he was getting out to similar balls earlier. Our team is very confident, the intent has always been there to win matches and now we are hoping to play the final and do well in that game as well. 

Writtick Chatterjee (POTM) : Thank you, for batting it was a very easy wicket. For bowling, it was gripping, in the morning there was quite something on offer so I had clear cut plans for it. When I went to bat, I wanted to keep things simple, and the idea was always to finish till the end. Actually it was because Ranjot playing so well is why even I was able to do what I did, all credit goes to him because it made things easier for me. 

Sudip Gharami (Murshidabd Kings): We needed a more positive mindset in the middle overs but we couldn't do it. The ball was stopping a bit. We knew that Mukesh would bowl well, he is a India player. I had a plan for him too but he bowled a good ball and I got out early. Aditya needed to carry forward the innings which made the difference.

Sobisco Smashers Malda (149/1) defeat Murshidabad Kings (148/8) by 9 wickets

Writtick Chatterjee - 78* (51) | Ranjot Khaira - 57* (42) 
Vikas Singh - 1/36 | Toufik Uddin Mondal - 0/12

There was an early wreaking of the ship for Sobisco Smashers Malda but the stand between Writtick Chatterjee and Ranjot Khaira put matters into auto pilot for Mukesh Kumar and his men. Kings' bowling attack were rendered ineffective for a long time as both batters revealed a clear game plan of sticking to percentage cricket before Writtick began taking some calculated risks which added to the chagrin of the fielding side.

There was visibly more calmness around how Ranjot went about his innings compared to Writtick Chatterjee who were both putting up a thorough professional performance. Chatterjee became the highest run scorer of the tournament after his skipper Mukesh Kumar went to the top of the bowling charts of wicket taking as Sobisco Smashers Malda enjoyed showcasing a complete show against Murshidabad Kings, who were bereft of ideas.

Things went from good to great for Sobisco Smashers Malda, who true to their names, really did provide a bit of a smashing to the Kings bowlers. Writtick Chatterjee dispatched consecutive sixes to bring up his 2nd half-century of the tournament against the Under 19 kid of Murshidabad Kings - Jeet Thakur. Not that the youngster did not have any bowling pedigree, only recently did Jeet pick up a couple of wickets in the same over and conceded only a single run.

At the end, the unbeaten 132 run stand took them through with astounding knocks from both Writtick Chatterjee and Ranjot Khaira on a day when everything that they touched turned to gold. First loss for the Kings but they will learn from here. 

16.2 Nitin Verma to Writtick Chatterjee, full on middle and leg, he clips it to deep square leg and they'll come back! That's it. They seal it by 9 wickets!

Strategic Time Out: This has been entertainment of the highest order and no wonder we are seeing a very happy Mukesh Kumar on the sidelines along his teammates. We might as well see this match getting done and dusted within the next 2-3 balls. Ranjot has some issues, we have seen him getting down on his haunches and that might be one of the contributing factors as to why the umpire has signalled for the strategic timeout. 

17 runs needed from 30 balls! The century partnership comes up off just 76 balls and Writtick Chatterjee celebrates that milestone with another boundary as he has now begun to toy with the fielding settings of the opposition as the required run rate goes below 3.5 runs per over. 

He has played some delightful strokes and is always on the look out for scoring runs which makes him such a dangerous prospect, especially on days like these where he can make a mockery of the chase. 

Games like this are far and few and this is a golden chance for this batting side to finish this in double quick time.