Golden Hawks romp past Telefunken, Madras outclass NK Khanna to enter DDCA Hot Weather semis

New Delhi: Telefunken Cricket Club were a bit unlucky that they had to miss out on their key player Mayank Dagar for their crucial quarterfinal encounter against Golden Hawks in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) Hot Weather League. Coach Madan Sharma was livid and he had to be. For Dagar was allowed to play in the first match of the Hot Weather before the DDCA officials suddenly asked him to stay away being a Himachal Pradesh player.

"He had represented Telefunken in the DDCA League and in the first game of the DDCA Hot Weather. They (DDCA) should have notified us earlier," said Madan Sharma, who is famous for producing ex-India opener Shikhar Dhawan.

Dagar's absence was felt as Telefunken, riding on Parikshit Sehrawat's 101 went on to score 297/8 and could not defend it on a St Stephen's College Ground pitch that often leaves even a 400-run target unsafe.

"We missed Dagar's eight overs of left-arm spin."

As usual, the pitch was tough to start with for a team batting first.

"The initial period was testing and I had to bat cautiously before opening up. I should have continued and scored 150 but unfortunately, I was dismissed in the 27th over with 13 overs to go," said Sehrawat, who made 101 off 91 balls (13x4s, 4x6s).

Raman Rangi, Dhananjai Singh and Pranav Pant

Laxman took 2/37 and Himanshu 2/52 to restrict Telefunken, good spells on the St Stephen's surface.

Dagar's absence may have impacted Telefunken's chances. But there is nothing taking away from the extraordinary young batting talent in Golden Hawks' arsenal that made a mockery of the 298-run target.

Pranav Pant, who has rediscovered his mojo after a sedate last season, blazed to 56 off 22 balls (6x4s, 4x6s).

"Our target was close to 300 and the pitch had gotten very flat, my motive was to give a good start to the team and play according to the merit of the ball. Earlier, when I was struggling for runs, I was playing with a defensive mindset. Playing aggressively is my natural game and I backed my game a lot. Thankfully, I have also not suffered any major injury. That helped a lot," said Pant, who was the captain of Delhi under-19 last year.

The 20-year-old Pant added a remarkable 105 in 6.5 overs with fellow opener Dhananjai Singh (92 off 46 balls; 15x4s, 3x6s).

"We both (Pant and I) decided to go after the bowling. Our strategy is always that if the ball is coming onto the bat well, we will go after our strokes," said the 20-year-old Dhananjai Singh. He also credited team skipper Monu Shukla for the opportunities.

Parikshit Sehrawat made 101 in vain

There was another 20-year-old who shone bright and that was Raman Rangi, a product of Madras Cricket Club now playing for Golden Hawks. He scored 90 off 53 balls (8x4s, 5x6s). He saw the team off to seven-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare.

"The openers Dhananjai and Pant had made the chase easy by providing the ballistic start. So I just had to play my own game," said Rangi, who hails from Najafgarh and represented Delhi under-19 last year under Pant.

He too thanked skipper Shukla for backing him when the time was tough.

Shukla said, "We are lucky to have a talented young group."

While the Golden Hawks-Telefunken game proved one-sided, the quarterfinal at SGTB Khalsa College Ground between Madras Cricket Club and NK Khanna Club that comprises Bal Bhavan Academy players proved to be a close encounter.

The start exposed yet another organisational problem in DDCA. The initial phase saw Yash Dhull and skipper Yajas Sharma go ballistic. NK Khanna had reached 56 inside five overs before the first wicket fell.

There were only three balls with the umpire when nowadays with big-hitting there needs to be a stock of at least six balls. Two of the three balls were sent out, once by Dhull and once by Yajas Sharma, and they got lost. Thankfully for umpires and DDCA, Dhull was dismissed for 31 off 18 balls (2x4s, 3x6s) and the innings became more sedate and the process of balls going out of the park stalled.

Mayank Rawat (48 off 47 balls) and Ekansh Dobal (38 off 43) fell during crucial stage when they should have built their innings further. The final nail was applied by Rehan Singh, a 17-year-old emerging talent in pace bowling. He took three late wickets, removing Dev Lakra, Lovnish Kumar and Prince to end with 3/36 and restrict NK Khanna to 254 and bowl them out in 37.2 overs. Missing out on the last 16 balls of the innings cost NK Khanna dear as 20-25 in that could have helped them reach close to 280 and make it tougher for Madras.

Chasing 255, Madras Cricket Club got off to a blazing start, the opening pair reaching 80 in 7.3 overs. Skipper Keshav R Singh (Keshav Dalal) led from the front as his 51 off 27 balls (7x4s, 3x6s) laid the foundation for the eventual win. Sarthak Ranjan made 35 off 29 balls. The innings stuttered a bit but another talented 17-year-old Prikshit kept them on the prance. Prikshit made 50 off 55 balls (6x4s) to steer them to the target. Pawan Negi came down the order and hammered 17 off six balls (2x4s, 1x6).

In another quarterfinal, played at Essex Farms, Kashmere Gate Colts coasted to a three-wicket win over Yorks Cricket Club. Mohammed Kaif made 76 off 73 balls (7x4s, 3x6s) to extricate them from a precarious position and steer them to win. Gagan Vats hit 51 off 47 balls (6x4s, 1x6) and skipper Harsh Tyagi ended 49 off 41 as Kashmere Gate Colts overhauled Yorks CC's 264/6 with four balls and three wickets to spare. Rushal Saini's 109 off 95 balls (11x4s, 4x6s) went in vain.

The closest of all quarterfinals was played at the United India Cricket Club ground where Indian Air Force defeated Mohan Meakins Cricket Club by one wicket. Mohan Meakins scored 304/9 in 40 overs with Lakshya Dalal making 123 off 90 balls (11x4s, 5x6s) and Shivi scoring 51 off 48 (3x4s, 3x6s).

For most part the Airmen were playing a catch-up game with Gaurav Kochar (78 off 64 balls, 15x4s) and Arjun (63 not out off 44 balls, 6x4s, 2x6s) the chief scorers. But it was Raj Bahadur Pal, whose three sixes towards the end saw the Airmen through. He made 29 off 14.

Wednesday's semifinals will see Madras Cricket Club play Indian Air Force at the St Stephen's Ground and Kashmere Gate Colts face off Golden Hawks at the SGTB Khalsa College Ground.

Tags : DDCA, Hot Weather, Delhi, cricket, Pranav Pant, Dhananjai Singh, Yash Dhull, Raman Rangi,