Bengaluru: Srinagar Ke Veer rode a Sagar Ali special to outclass Falcon Risers Hyderabad by eight wickets in the second qualifier on Friday, and set their date with Majhi Mumbai for Saturday’s summit clash of the Indian Street Premier League, season 2 at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium here.
Sagar, who experienced a slump in the past two matches, saved his explosive best for the crucial second qualifier, slamming an unbeaten 26-ball 53, laced with a couple of fours and five massive sixes to guide Srinagar to the final of the tournament.
Chasing 90, Srinagar overcame a shaky start that saw them losing the first two wickets with just 12 runs on the board, before Sagar and Sanskar Dhyani joined forces with an unbeaten 64-run third wicket partnership to seal the deal in the Men-in-Pink’s favour.
Opening the innings, Sagar got off to a sluggish start for the first 10 deliveries, before switching gears in the 50-50 Challenge over with four successive sixes off Vishwajit Thakur. He completed the formalities with a boundary that also helped him get to a well-deserved fifty.
Earlier, seamer Mansoor KL took full advantage of his elevation in the batting order, smoking a 19-ball unbeaten 46 to bail Falcon Risers Hyderabad out of a troubled start and eventually post a commanding 89 for 6 in their 10 overs after being asked to bat.
Reduced to 24 for 5 midway into their innings, Hyderabad desperately needed some stability in the middle, and Mansoor’s arrival ahead of recognised batters Sambhaji Patil and Shreyash Kadam, did raise a few eyebrows. But the left-hander instantly ended all doubts over his batting prowess with a couple of sixes in the 50-50 Challenge Over from Dilip Binjwa, to help Hyderabad milk 25 runs from the over.
Mansoor continued his flamboyant batting with three more boundaries in the eighth over before clobbering Prajyot Ambhire for another massive six in the final over to raise an undefeated 40-run stand for the seventh wicket with his skipper Sambhaji, who remained undefeated on 7. Earlier, Hyderabad were off to a forgettable start after Rajesh Sorte sent back star opener Kisan Satpute off the second ball of the opening over, and struck again on the fourth ball to pack back Aakash Jangid. Vishwajit Thakur was the other notable contributor for Hyderabad with a 9-ball 10.
For Srinagar, Rajesh was the pick of the bowlers, returning impressive figures of 3/12 while Suvronil Roy, Dilip Binjwa and Prajyot Ambhire chipped in with a wicket apiece.
The day began with popular music composer Mithoon Sharma enthralling the audience with his chart-buster hits, that added a festive flavour to the cricketing extravaganza.
In the big final on Saturday, Majhi Mumbai will take on Srinagar Ke Veer. All matches are LIVE on Star Sports 1 (TV) and JioHotstar (OTT).
