Ayush Badoni slams 132, makes short work of Nitish Rana and Hiten Dalal's efforts

Batsman Ayush Badoni, playing as a professional for Collage Club, matched LB Shastri Cricket Club's Nitish Rana (80 off 60 balls; 8x4s, 4x6s) and Hiten Dalal (78 off 38 balls; 4x4s, 8x6s) punch for punch as he romped to 132 off 46 balls (14x4s, 11x6s) to take his team to the semi-final of the 50th Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Cricket Tournament on Thursday.

Rana and Dalal helped LB Shastri reach 208/3 in 20 overs.

Priyansh Arya failed once again in this tournament, getting out for a duck off two balls.

Rana and Dalal then added 158 for the second wicket on what looked like a belter of a pitch. The duo set a strong platform but LB Shastri could get only 50 off the last 33 balls and that would upset them.

The 209-run target was challenging but the way Badoni batted, it looked pretty paltry.

Badoni got a life early, as he was dropped by Yatharth Singh at extra cover when he was still in single figures.

After that he took the bowling apart. He hit pace bowler Surya Prakash for six fours in an over and then hit three switch-hit sixes off left-arm spinner Ojasva Basoya.

"I think that drop catch really cost us dear. If I had taken that catch, we could have stopped them, even won this game," said a disappointed Yatharth as he was about to leave the St Stephen's College Ground where the tournament is being conducted.

"It is clear from today's innings that Badoni is way above than many of the batsmen in Delhi circuit. He is playing at a very high level at the moment," said umpire Dharmesh Bhardwaj who saw the innings from the pitch.

It was, however, a close observation from Collage manager Pedro that began the flow of runs. After a ball had struck over the boundary in the third over during the chase, Pedro signalled to Badoni and Samarth Seth (37 off 22 balls, 3x4s, 3x6s) that the ball has torn and requires change.

Nitish Rana with the Fighter of the Match Award

The ball was inspected only on his insistence and changed.

"There was a laceration besides the seam, so we changed it," said umpire Bhardwaj.

From there began the free flow of runs as Badoni ran away with the game. The score at the end of the six-over powerplay was 99 without loss. It was Collage's game to lose from there.

By the time Badoni departed as the second wicket, Collage needed just 31. They reached the target with eight wickets in hand and seven overs to spare.

Badoni, who left the ground immediately after the innings for a shoot in Chandigarh, won't play Friday's semifinal and he will be replaced by Sameer Rizvi. If Collage win on Friday, Badoni will return for the final on Sunday.

Tags : Ayush Badoni, Nitish Rana, Delhi cricket, Sameer Rizvi, Collage, Hiten Dalal