“The twin killers of success are impatience and greed,’’ American entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn philosophized. Giving in to those vices can derail a perfectly stable life, job, relationship, or cricket innings for that matter. Parth Choudhary had only just drawn the attention of the scouts with his range-hitting off Ayush Mankar in the Madhya Pradesh T20 League when the devil on his shoulder lost to the angel. He knew the leg-spinner was going to pull his length back and chasing a hat-trick of sixes is an idea fraught with danger. Granted, the foot can’t be taken off the pedal in a pursuit of 222, but Gwalior Cheetahs were sitting pretty at 67/1, with an over left in the PowerPlay.
Parth went for an almighty hoick thrice in a row, though this time around the ball was not full enough to go downtown. He lost his shape, and the clean straight swing was replaced by an ungainly swipe across the line, a function of the late adjustment he was forced into by the wise bowler. An underedge disturbed the furniture, cutting short a knock pregnant with promise. As a set batter Parth had left the team in the lurch, listening to his showboating side than the mature one as Ayush used that breakthrough as a springboard to spin a web. ‘’I was in a rush, I should’ve played more responsibly,’’ the opener admitted.
Also harbouring a desire to jump on the atonement bandwagon was all-rounder Pawan Nirwani, who wasn’t able to measure up to the high expectations in the afterglow of a four-wicket haul against Indore Pink Panthers. In his follow-up act, the left-arm orthodox couldn’t complete his quota, returning 37/1 as Bhopal Leopards conceded 220. Two players in a state of dissatisfaction with their performance, carrying an element of guilt for letting their teammates down, eager to make amends for the costly slip-ups. As Indore welcomed the weekend in rainy fashion, enjoying moong pakoras with hot tea, cricket enthusiasts who reached out for the remote may have stumbled upon a talented duo maximizing their potential at the Holkar Stadium.
At the Holkar Stadium in Indore, @iamaryansurana witnesses Madhav Tiwari’s power, Ishan Afridi’s hustle, and Aayush Mankar’s chicanery @MPLeagueT20🏏🔥
Read his captivating match feature: https://t.co/LyqvtGLKGt pic.twitter.com/Nl7W9OS4FP
— White Glove (@readwhiteglove) June 4, 2026
Unbothered by the prospect of residual moisture causing lateral movement, Parth leaned into a half-volley to begin on an aesthetic note. Kamal Tripathi committed the cardinal sin of overstepping as a spinner and gift-wrapped a full toss on the free hit, expediting the in-form batter’s prance into the forties, once again inside 18 balls.
This was the moment of truth. The juncture that separates a herculean effort from a footnote. The part where a false sense of security induces an error. It happens all the time, and having fallen prey to its tentacles two days ago, Parth was determined about kicking on. ‘’I wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting ahead of myself. That regulation helped with my timing.’’
It was easier said than done because Gwalior Cheetahs were moving along at breakneck pace. Their first thirty runs came off 17 balls, the next in 13, then in 11. A natural temptation to double down on the intent is par for the course, but Parth stuck to his game plan and focused on dealing with each ball on its merit rather than manufacturing an egoistic glory shot to his own detriment. His adherence to simplicity, a template Virat Kohli pioneered in T20 cricket, worked like a charm as a cut bisected the boundary riders square on the off-side. ‘’His strokeplay was eye-catching,’’ felt Rajat Patidar, his partner in an alliance worth 79 off 36 balls.
Abhishek Pathak, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Arpit Gaud, and Aniket Verma had notched up a century so far in MPT20 history. Parth converted the exclusive club into a quintuple thanks to a 48-ball ton that was built by walking a tightrope of motivation management. ‘’I saw him from close quarters during the second edition in Gwalior. He’s a fine player,’’ Rajat added.
In the presentation ceremony he also conveyed that it was a great game of cricket. How come when Bhopal Leopards were reduced to 66/5 on an arduous mountain trek, especially with the delayed start taking two overs out of the equation? Rahul Chandrol flattered to deceive in the second match running, Aniket Verma nailed a swivel-pull down square leg’s throat and Tanishq Yadav wanted a piece of Saumy Pandey on his very first ball even though the previous over had reaped 18 runs. Comfortable at 46 for no loss, Bhopal Leopards slipped on a banana peel, but much to their relief the extraordinary batting depth arrived at the rescue.
Collecting a six each and hustling hard between the sticks, Pawan and Pranjal Puri narrowed the requirement to 110 off 48. By bagging a couple in this innings Saumy recovered from a tough outing against Ujjain Falcons, where he leaked 24 in his last over, so Rajat gambled with his introduction opposite Pawan. The negative match-up blew up in his face; Royal Challengers Bangalore aren’t amused.
Saumy had to resort to the wideline after lusty blows down the ground retained the spectators searching for their bike key. The stand crossed 70 off 41, and it seemed like the universe was also manifesting a nail-biting finish when half-chances hit the turf on either side of the wicket. Even an Ishan Afridi yorker couldn’t stop Bhopal Leopards in their tracks, for Kamal Tripathi used his pace to good effect. His collaboration with Madhav Tiwari in the 2025 semi-final had pulled the rug from beneath Rewa Jaguars’ feet, hence with each step towards a win the owner’s contingent at the Adani End was growing vociferous.
The treatment Pawan meted out to Akash Raghuwanshi’s looseners led to a young fan screaming his lungs out in support, alas Parth had put the goal beyond Bhopal Leopards’ reach with his calculative carnage. Gwalior Cheetahs sneaked home by a dozen runs eventually, a testament to the firepower and fighting spirit of the men in yellow. ‘’Pawan is a key contributor for us. I loved the way he bounced back,’’ remarked captain Aniket. ‘’This fixture was a learning curve, and we’ll be drawing heart from the resilience the boys have shown.’’
