In its business end, Madhya Pradesh T20 League was whirring up a crescendo when the weather gods poked their nose, depriving Rewa Jaguars a fair shot at competing as Royal Nimar Eagles advanced to the final on the virtue of their superior standing in the table. Much to the delight of the organizers, rain relented to permit the second semi-final, where Harsh Dixit and Aman Bhadoriya’s all-round show extended the unbeaten streak of Chambal Ghariyals. Set a target of 215, Jabalpur Royal Lions went from 105 for no loss to 158/6, eventually falling short by 11 runs. As the scoreline suggests, it was a thrilling affair which served as compensation for the volume of action lost to rain in the last couple of days.
Considering the moisture trapped beneath the surface, Jabalpur Royal Lions chose to bowl first. It was a fairly wise thought process given their four-pronged pace attack could exploit the freshness of the pitch, owing to the much-needed breather it got as a result of the washouts, no pun intended. There was a nip in the air too, creating ideal conditions for fast bowling under lights. Ankush Singh came out firing on all cylinders, as expected, and given the kind of form he has been in it required something special to snuff him out. Pankaj Patel came up with that peach, a full inducker beating his straight drive to demolish the stumps.
Attack was the mantra for the left-arm quick, who bent his back to send the fluent Harsh Dixit packing on the verge of a half-century. However, the damage had been done until then, with Chambal Ghariyals fetching 69/1 in the PowerPlay as Harsh feasted on Puneet Datey’s rare full delivery before giving himself room to flay Pankaj over point. He also drove the remarkably tall Akshay Sharma uppishly for a couple of boundaries. Harsh was the chief contributor to an alliance worth 42 off 17 balls with Shubham Sharma, whose leading edge was caught by spinner Nawan Mewada in his follow through.
Playing his third MPLT20 season, Gautam Raghuvanshi kept the momentum going. Nayan was punished for dropping one short whereas Rahul Batham conceded boundaries on either side of the square. Having advanced to 21 off 10, the southpaw hit a roadblock and slithered into a run-a-ball phase for the next dozen balls. Pankaj, bringing up his third over, benefitted from the claustrophobic pressure as Gautam miscued a pull. The dismissal tailgated a flurry of fours, establishing the fact that sticking to his guns is the way to go for Pankaj, a typically aggressive speed merchant. It wouldn’t be a shocker if his celebrations didn’t align with the code of conduct, although the match referee ought to consider that big emotions are a part of the human experience.
Chambal Ghariyals have an enviable batting depth, so throwing caution to the wind is usual practice within their camp. The lower middle-order crashed and burned, making sure there’s no slowdown heading into the death overs, an entry point for Aman the utility cricketer. Sure, he was carted around the park by Kuldeep Gehi earlier in the tournament, but his influence on that fixture wasn’t a net negative. His blinder of a knock in the second innings astounded Gwalior Cheetahs in a defence of 258. Aman was at it again, fetching 30 off 14 to supply the late flourish. When Rahul Batham, operating with a 3-2 off-side field, messed up the execution of the tramline yorker, Aman got underneath the ball to access long-off. It is common knowledge that nerves are a factor in high-stakes battles, therefore his cameo made Jabalpur Royal Lions sign up for an even tougher challenge.
For starters, Ajay Rohera and Aryan Tiwari were making a good fist of things. The latter was a replacement for Arpit Gaud, who had injured his wrist. He deposited Tripuresh Singh into the sightscreen and guided him past deep point with elan. His partner was, meanwhile, putting up a masterclass in anticipation. An aesthetic pull was followed by a ramp as Ajay pre-empted the corrective measure, scooping the ball over fine leg. In five overs, Bundelkhand Bulls had wiped out 62 runs off the equation, but Aman bounced back from an expensive first over to concede only 9 in his next three. His control was impeccable, so much so that Ajay was involuntarily participating in a blockathon. It wore him down ultimately and a review was squandered by the two-time centurion of MPL 2026.
The departure of an in-form, senior batter pushed Jabalpur Royal Lions into a corner. Vedant Awasthi cue-ended a jab to long-on against the dibbly-dobbly Harsh, Ritik Tada played one shot too many, and Rahul committed harakiri to be run-out at the non-striker’s end, leading to an animated argument with Sanjog Nijjar. In command at the halfway mark, Jabalpur Royal Lions saw the asking rate climb in front of their eyes, triggering the knee-jerk reaction of promoting Puneet over a recognized batter. Avesh Khan targeted the wideline with heavy protection behind square on the off-side, only for Abhishek Bhandari to improvise and nail the shimmying paddle. Sanjog picked up from where he left against Gwalior Cheetahs, racing to 25 off 9 even as Tripuresh engaged beast mode from thereon, acing the toe-crushers.
There seemed to be a twist in the tale when Nayan read a slower bumper out of Avesh’s hand and hacked it over square leg. The drama intensified as his crunchy cover drive reached the advertising toblerones, yet Sanjog was asked to pinch 21 off the final over. The flat trajectory of Mayur Patel’s wide leggies rendered a solid connection elusive, and by the time Nayan swung the ball over cow corner, Chambal Ghariyals had already booked a berth in the summit clash. Should the almighty remain generous, keeping the heavens from opening up, the crown of Madhya Pradesh will be up for grabs on Friday evening. Whoever secures it, you bet, will raise a toast to the glorious campaign well into the weekend.
