Red Bull Cricket Campus National Finals 2021: Ahmedabad, Muzaffarnagar, Hyderabad and Pune qualify for the semis

Day three of the Red Bull Cricket Campus India National Finals 2021 saw a total of five games, four matches as scheduled, and a re-scheduled game from Day 1. The matches on day three decided semi-finalists. Teams from Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Muzzafarnagar qualified for the semi-finals. Pune will be facing Muzzafarnagar while Hyderabad will take on Ahmedabad at the iconic IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali, Chandigarh. Here is overview of all the matches on day three:

Match 9 – SS Jain Subodh College Jaipur vs TKRES College Hyderabad, Sector 16 

Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket which wasn’t going to be easy for batting. And they found that out pretty soon with early wickets from Umed Meena who removed the top three batters. Maruthi Reddy and skipper Samhith Reddy formed a stable stand scoring 22 and 25 runs respectively. However, once both fell Hyderabad collapsed to a one-bowler show. Aditya Choudhary picked up five wickets shelling just six runs in his 2.1 overs. Aashish Indoria also picked up a couple of wickets in an economical spell. 

Their combined effort helped them bowl out Hyderabad for a mere 86. Jaipur started off well with quick runs in the first two overs, but then there was a lot of drama. Mahesh Adhikari made 15 off 7, Saket Sharma made a run-a-ball 10 and Abhishek Yadav made 12 runs. But, for a period there was some madness as Hyderabad found its way in. Akhilesh Reddy got a couple of wickets, Pratyush Miryala picked up three for 13. Praneeth Raj, Hitesh Yadav, and Narayana Teja also picked up a wicket each as Jaipur’s innings looked to die down. 

When their ninth wicket fell, they were still a few runs away. But, Umed Meena’s patient eight runs turned out to be vital as Jaipur just about managed to get past the total in the 18th over. 

Brief scores: Jaipur 87 for 9 (Mahesh Adhikari 15, Aditya Choudhary 5 for 6) beat Hyderabad 86 all-out (Samhith Reddy 25, Pratyush Miryala 3 for 13) by one wicket. 

Match 10: MMCC College Pune vs Maharishi College Bhubaneswar, Mullanpur Stadium

Pune won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that turned out well for them. Sachin Bhosale bowled a good spell to trouble Bhubaneswar and got three wickets. The struggles of Bhubaneswar didn’t end as they constantly failed to build any sort of partnership. Shubham Satrujit got a 31-ball 32, but even he lacked support at the other end. Yash K was fantastic as well with the ball picking up four crucial wickets. His effort along with some positive bowling helped them restrict Bhubaneswar for just 108. 

Pune’s chase was as clinical as their bowling. Dhiraj Phatangare opened the innings and played quite a sensational knock with the bat. He was in sublime form with the bat and went on to get past fifty as his innings didn’t allow the opposition to get into the game. As his assault continued, Bhubaneswar got two wickets but that wasn’t enough to stop the run flow. Phatangare guided his side to the score comfortably with his unbeaten knock of 75 runs from 45 balls. Pune chased down the total with 35 balls to spare. 

Brief scores: Pune 111 for 2 (Phatangare 75, Yash K 4 for 14) beat Bhubaneswar 108 (Shubham Satrujit 32, Manoj Barik 1 for 27) by eight wickets. 

Match 11: New LJ College Ahmedabad vs Jamshedpur Cooperative College, Sector 16 stadium

Ahmedabad won the toss in this encounter and elected to bat first. Their batting unit put a collective effort in helping them to get a just about score. There were contributions right through the batting order as they helped themselves to 144 for 6. Rahul Ahuja made 23 runs from 29 balls, Bhavin Engle made 19 while Dhaval Pandya scored 18. But it was a 9-ball 25 run cameo from Nitish Mishra which helped them finish well. Ravi Sharma picked up three wickets while Shivkaran Marmu picked up two wickets. 

With the bat, Jamshedpur’s Karan Kumar shined once again with his fifty, but he lacked support from the other end. Ujjwal Pal scored 25 runs from 25 balls, but the regular wickets meant Ahmedabad was always slightly ahead. Nitish Mishra and Smit Patel both picked up three wickets each while Yash Doshi and Bhavin Engle picked up a wicket each. In the end, Ahmedabad’s bowling managed to keep Jamshedpur’s total to 136 all-out. With this, Ahmedabad continued their march to the semi-finals with three wins in three games. 

Brief scores: Ahmedabad 144 for 6 (Nitish Mishra 25 & 3 for 29, Smit Patel 3 for 16) beat Jamshedpur 136 all-out (Karan Kumar 56, Ravi Sharma 3 for 26) by eight runs. 

Match 12: Jain College Bengaluru vs Shri Ram College Muzaffarnagar, Mullanpur Stadium

Muzaffarnagar won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Avinash Chaudhary assessed the pitch well and went on to make 45 runs from 36 balls. He was well supported by Sparsh Sahrawat who made 34 runs from 23 balls. Their effort helped their side finish on 139 for 6. Nakul U was the pick of bowlers for Bengaluru as he got two wickets. 

For Bengaluru, openers Jay Borah made 18 while Ashwin Santosh, who came in at no. 3 made 21 runs. But there was lack of partnerships right through the middle as Muzaffarnagar kept them under pressure. No. 10, Sai Samarth MV scored 31 runs while no. 11, Aevant Kothari made 23 runs. But those runs came in a bit too late as Bengaluru was eventually bowled for just 118 runs. For Muzaffarnagar, Vishal Singh got four wickets and so did Akash Luthra. The win ensured that Muzaffarnagar managed to enter the semi-finals. 

Brief scores: Muzaffarnagar 139 for 6 (Avinash Chaudhary 45, Vishal Singh 4 for 15) beat Bengaluru 118 all-out (Sai Samarth MV 31 & 1 for 18, Nakul U 2 for 8) by 21 runs. 

Rescheduled Match 1: TKRES College, Hyderabad vs MMCC College Pune, Sector 16 stadium

The match which wasn’t possible on day one was finally played on the final day of the group stages. Pune won the toss and elected to bat first in a game that was a 10-over affair. Dhanraj Shinde got them off to a flyer with his 6-ball 19 cameo. Skipper Yash K made 28 runs from 21 balls and Atul Vitkar played a cameo of 19 runs from 8 balls. Their effort helped Pune finish on 100 for 5. Hitesh Yadav got two wickets for Hyderabad with the ball. 

Opener Narayana Teja started off well adding 25 runs from 18 balls but then once he was gone, it became quite difficult to keep up with the required rate. They had a collapse of sorts as they ended with only 71 for 7 in their 10 overs. However, that was enough to help them qualify on the basis of the net run rate. For Pune, Sanket Chavan picked up three wickets by giving just two runs while Sanket Pharate got two wickets as well. This was Pune’s third straight win as they topped their group qualifying for the semi-finals. 

Brief scores: Pune 100 for 5 (Yash K 28, Sanket Chavan 3 for 2) beat Hyderabad 71 for 7 (Narayana Teja 25, Hitesh Yadav 2 for 7) by 29 runs.