The third season of the Bengal T20 League produced a run-fest at Eden Gardens on Tuesday, highlighted by stunning knocks from Novus Royals Purulia captain Priyam Sarkar and Murshidabad Kings batter Saksham Chaudhary.
Priyam smashed a magnificent 100 off just 56 deliveries, becoming only the fourth centurion in the tournament’s history. However, his efforts went in vain as Novus Royals Purulia suffered a four-wicket defeat against Murshidabad Kings via the VJD method.
Opting to bat first, Royals Purulia piled up an imposing 196/3 in their allotted 18 overs. Priyam led the charge with a knock studded with 10 boundaries and six maximums, while Yuvraj Deepak Keshwani provided excellent support with an unbeaten 56 off 27 balls.
Murshidabad Kings responded aggressively. Abhishek Raman laid the platform with a brisk 43 before Saksham Chaudhary took center stage. The right-hander played a breathtaking innings of 98 from only 47 balls, hammering six fours and 10 sixes. Though he missed out on a century by two runs, his explosive batting guided Murshidabad to 200/6 in 17.4 overs and secured a memorable victory. Ravi Kumar was the standout bowler for Purulia with figures of 3 wickets.
Earlier in the day, Shrachi Rarh Tigers edged past Rashmi NES Medinipur Wizards by three runs in a closely fought contest.
Batting first, Rarh Tigers posted 169/9 in 20 overs, with Rohit Kumar blasting 30 off just eight balls and Shuvam Dey Sr contributing 35 off 21 deliveries. For Medinipur Wizards, Sayed Irfan Aftab claimed three wickets.
Chasing 170, Medinipur Wizards finished on 166/6 despite an unbeaten 40 off 28 balls from Abhishek Das. Raju Halder starred with the ball for Rarh Tigers, returning impressive figures of 3/23 to help his side secure a narrow win.