Teenager Aditya Bhandari, Naman Tiwari shine as Sonnet stun Collage

On a day Rishabh Pant, one of its most illustrious trainees in recent years, was registering his name in history books in the India vs England game at Headingley by becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score two centuries in a Test match, Sonnet Club had to endure the disappointment of not being able to field its another accomplished batsman, Ayush Badoni in a DDCA Hot Weather League match.

"We wanted to play Ayush Badoni in the pre-quarterfinals but our request was turned down because the rule stipulates that the player should have played at least one Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) League game in the season. Since Badoni was busy with IPL, he couldn't play and I think it was a bit harsh," said Sonnet coach Devender Sharma.

Initially it seemed that Sonnet were missing Badoni in the pre-quarter match-up against Collage Group at the St Stephen's College Ground on Monday but then young Aditya Bhandari, Naman Tiwari and Aryan Dalal stood up to the challenge and helped script a remarkable turnaround.

Sonnet had been reduced to 31/4. Money Grewal had picked two and Digvesh Rathi, fresh from IPL stint with Lucknow Super Giants, also took two wickets.

Bhandari (120 off 91 balls, 13x4s, 3x6s) added 111 for the fifth wicket with Dalal (55 off 60 balls, 8x4s) and then stitched 150 for the sixth wicket with Tiwari (80 off 42 balls, 8x4, 5x6s).

"When I went into bat, we had suffered a collapse. I was told to bat for as long as possible. Digvesh Rathi was bowling very well, as also left-arm spinner Pradeep Parashar. So we had to wait for loose balls, playing on merit," said the 19-year-old Bhandari, who showed great composure for his age. He represented Delhi under-19 last season.

One of the big threats Rathi with his variations.

"We wanted to read him as closely as possible. He bowls carrom ball, googly. We wanted to play him as late as possible. Aryan Dalal also told me to wait for loose balls. It was about rotating strike and milking runs," added Bhandari.

Once Dalal was dismissed and the innings was stabilised, it was the turn of Tiwari to launch big hits, something he is used to doing well.

He asked Bhandari, a resident of Rohini, to stay at the crease while he went for the big shots.

"The pitch had a bit of moisture in the morning. My plan was to hit whenever the ball was in the slot. If I hadn't done that, the pressure would have got to us. We wanted to keep the opposition team down," said Tiwari, a 22-year-old all-rounder, who has been playing cricket since 2013 and training at Sonnet.

Tiwari had played a couple of good innings at Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Tournament, scoring a 20-ball 50 in one game and an 18-ball 50 in another match.

Collage veteran Pradeep Parashar was miffed with the fielding.

"We dropped too many catches. The fielding was terrible. We should not have allowed them to get more than 200," said Parashar, who saw two catches go down off his bowling.

The 313/7 that Sonnet scored wasn't that challenging at St Stephen's which has a pitch full of runs, especially with the sun beating down.

They began well, adding 74 for the first wicket through Samarth Seth (47 off 33, 6x4s, 2x6s) and Deepak Punia (25 off 24, 3x6s). But then spinners Manan Bhardwaj (2/25), Lokesh Nagar (3/60), Hrithik Shokeen (2/47) and Bhandari (2/13) began picking wickets at regular intervals. Punia was bowled by Bhardwaj and a solid-looking Seth, on whom a lot rested, holed out in the deep off Shokeen. That triggered the collapse and the team folded for 201 in 30 overs, losing by 112 runs and crashing out.

In another game, Sporting Club defeated Madras Cricket Club by one wicket. Madras scored 221 all out in 37.4 overs with Keshav R Singh (formerly Keshav Dalal) scoring 78 off 66 (10x4s, 3x6s) on a tough Shyam Cricket Ground pitch. Sporting reached 222/9 in 39.1 overs with Rishabh Drall scoring 49 off 45 balls.

At SSCA ground, three-wicket hauls from Ojasva Basoya (3/22) and Vikas Dixit (3/10) helped LB Shastri dismiss Delhi Colts for 102 in 26.3 overs. LB Shastri reached 105/4 in 11.3 overs to win by six wickets.

At Chhattar Singh Stadium, century by Dhruv Singh (103 off 80 balls, 13x4s, 4x6s) helped Food Corporation of India (FCI) beat Kashmere Gate Colts by two wickets. KG Colts were dismissed for 249 in 39.4 overs with Tarun Bisht scoring 104 off 96 balls but FCI reached 253/8 in 37.1 overs.

At the Haryana Cricket Academy Ground, NK Khanna Club defeated Kishan Ganj Gymkhana by six wickets. Kishan Ganj Gymkhana scored 200 all out for 36.4 overs but NK Khanna reached 201/4 in 25.5 overs.

At Essex Farms Cricket Ground, Rajnigandha scored 385/8 in 40 overs. Yash Joon scored 100 off 69 balls (11x4s, 4x6s), Aryan Sehrawat made 82 off 51 balls (3x4s, 8x6s) and Mehul Chaudhary hit 78 off 55 balls (8x4s, 4x6s). They then bowled out Golden Hawks for 290 in 35.4 overs. Pranav Pant scored 85 off 60 balls (7x4s, 4x6s) and Keshav Dabas made 93 off 78 balls (6x4s, 7x6s).

At the Talents Sports Cricket Academy, Telefunken Cricket Club beat Pelican Cricket Club by three wickets. Abhishek Khandelwal's 6/51 helped Telefunken restrict Pelican to 247/8 in 40 overs. Telefunken reached 248/7 in 34 overs with Yash Dabas scoring 55 off 29 balls (5x4s, 4x6s).

The Rohtak Road Gymkhana-Indian Air Force match was abandoned due to the Arihant Cricket Ground in Chhawla being unfit to play.

The tournament is the final event of Delhi cricket's Hot Weather season. 

(Please note: The picture shows Aditya Bhandari) 

Tags : Rishabh Pant, Ayush Badoni, Aditya Bhandari, Naman Tiwari, DDCA, Delhi cricket, Pranav Pant