Arshdeep magic trumps Suryakumar magic

-in super fun run-fest

Punjab Kings' innings was going nowhere. After 14 overs, they were 105 for 4, with Harpreet Singh Bhatia batting on 15 off 16 and Sam Curran on 8 off 12. However, in the next six overs, they ransacked 109. Bhatia ended with 41 off 28, Curran with 55 off 29, and Jitesh Sharma with 25 off just seven. That lifted Kings to a formidable 214 for 8.

In response, Mumbai Indians were always in the contest, thanks to Rohit Sharma's 27-ball 44 and Cameron Green's 43-ball 67. Suryakumar Yadav then threatened to snatch the game from Kings with his blazing half-century, and that's when Arshdeep Singh rose to the occasion. He dismissed Suryakumar in the 18th over, and then, with 16 required from six balls, he conceded just two, while breaking the middle stumps of Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera with back-to-back deliveries.

The 13-run win took Kings to fifth position, with eight points from seven games. In fact, each of the top five teams have eight points, only the net run rate separates them.

Rohit, Green keep Mumbai on track

Before his heroics at the death, Arshdeep dealt Mumbai an early below by sending back Ishan Kishan in the second over of the chase. Rohit and Green didn't let that deter them, and kept finding boundaries at regular intervals. They hit five fours and three sixes in the powerplay to take Mumbai to 54 for 1 after six overs. The pair added 76 off 50 balls before Rohit spooned a return catch to Liam Livingstone in the tenth over.

Green and Suryakumar press on further

With Mumbai needing 127 in the last 10 overs, Suryakumar didn't waste any time. He swept his third ball for a four, before hitting Livingstone for a hattrick of fours. It was a typical Suryakumar innings: he hit a 26-ball 57 with 33 of those runs coming behind square on the leg side.

At the other end, Green switched gear. In the 15th over, he hit Rahul Chahar for a six and four, bringing up his half-century in the process and reducing the equation to 66 needed from 30 balls.

Ellis and Arshdeep show their skills Green started the 16th over by hitting Nathan Ellis, Kings' Impact Player, for a four and a six. But Ellis had him miscuing a back-of-the-hand slower one, and Curran settled under it near extra cover. Despite that, Mumbai were very much in the game. In fact, Suryakumar's six and four off Curran in the 17th over put Mumbai ahead. With 40 needed from the last three overs, Tim David hit Arshdeep's first ball - a full tossfor six, but the bowler conceded only three off the remaining five balls, one of which also took out Suryakumar. It was a low full toss that the batter flicked towards midwicket, where Atharva Taide leapt to his left to pluck the ball.

David still threatened to pull it off for Mumbai. In the penultimate over, he hit an Ellis full toss for a 114-metre six, but apart from that, he struggled to middle the ball. In the final over, he took a single on Arshdeep's first ball, and then spent the rest of the over at the non-striker's end watching a death-bowling masterclass.

Prabhsimran, Taide revive the powerplay

Earlier, Kings had a quiet start after being sent in. Matthew Short tried to take on Green in the third over, flicking him over

It was even stevens when the last over started, but Arshdeep Singh made sure the result went his team's way square leg for four. He eyed another boundary on the next ball, but his attempted pull failed to clear Piyush Chawla at short midwicket.

After three overs, Kings were 20 for 1. The next three, however, produced 38, as Jason Behrendorff bowled a couple of short balls in the fourth, and Prabhsimran Singh duly dispatched them over the short square-leg boundary. From the other end, Taide ramped Jofra Archer for his first six. Rohit introduced Chawla in the sixth over, and the two batters each picked up a boundary off him as well, to lift Kings to 58 for 1 by the end of the powerplay.

Tendulkar, Chawla drag Kings back

It was a bit of a surprise when Arjun Tendulkar, who swung the new ball, was taken off after just one over. When he came back for his second, in the seventh of the innings, he had Prabhsimran lbw with an excellent yorker, the ball sneaking underneath the bat to hit the back shoe.

Chawla hurt Kings further with his double-strike in the tenth over. First, seeing Livingstone come down the track, he slipped one down the leg side to have him stumped. Three balls later, he beat Taide on the sweep. The ball hit the pad and went on to disturb the stumps. That left Kings on 83 for 4 after ten overs.

Monumental Milo final...

FROM PAGE 32 ►

Young Lions Of Football

While two quality teams will be on display, spectators are invited to look out for the individual talents; the faces of Guyana’s football future.

Seon Cato of Chase’s Academy, who is set to don the number ‘10’ jersey, is hard to miss in the midfield. Already having 8 goals in the tournament thus far, he has a habit of showing up at critical moments, and will surely be looking to extend his personal tally.

Further, this young football lion has set his mind and heart on bagging Chase’s 4th Milo title.

“I think the team is good. Going into the finals, we’re looking to play hard and win, to carry away the championship once again,” Cato told <<Guyana Times Sport>> prior to their semifinal victory.

Another star to watch on the Chase team is forward Neeiaz Baksh, who has amassed 5 goals in the competition and has a knack of finding the back of the net from the most unlikely of positions.

Another forward to watch is Justin Alcindor, who, as a winger, is another cannon in the Chase’s arsenal.

The Santa Rosa team is equally stacked with up-and-coming stars. Captain Roy Vansluytman is a born leader and an impressive strategist. He has the joint highest goal tally for the Region One outfit, and Chase’s would be well advised to look out for his powerful strikes from afar.

Then there is Darius Williams, who also has six goals in the competition and fancies the closer shots and penalties.

“I just think we need to touch the ball around more,” Vansluytman has shared with this publication about Santa Rosa’s simple plan for the final.

With this constellation of stellar talent, tonight’s Milo final is a definite must-see.

The third-place playoff, between Carmel Secondary and Mackenzie High, is also set to be an entertaining spectacle. Carmel, who suffered a narrow 2-1 loss in the semifinal, are bolstered by the tournament’s current highest goal-scorer, Ian Daniels (12 goals), and are sure to bring highintensity opposition to Mackenzie High.

Having unceremoniously ousted their rivals, last year’s champions Christianburg Wismar Secondary, from the competition, Mackenzie High appeared a bit lackluster in their semifinal fixture. However, bounce back to dominance tonight could make that semifinal outing a forgettable one.

The Milo final is set for 18:00hrs, while the third-place playoff is set for kickoff at 16:00hrs.

The Milo tournament is supported by Nestle Milo; Guyana Industrial Minerals Inc (GINMIN); General Equipment Guyana (Genequip) and MVP Sports. (Jemima Holmes) sixes. After a single on the third, Green dismissed Bhatia, but Jitesh launched him for two more maximums to make it 25 from the over.

Curran brought up his fifty, off 26 balls, with a four off

Archer, before getting out in the same over. Jitesh wasn't done yet, though. He hit two more sixes in the final over, bowled by Behrendorff, to take Kings to what proved to be just the winning total. (ESPNCricinfo)

Scoreboard

Punjab Kings (20 ovs maximum)

BATTING R B

Matthew Short c Chawla b Green 11 10

Prabhsimran Singh lbw b Tendulkar 26 17

Atharva Taide b Chawla 29 17

Liam Livingstone st

†Ishan Kishan b Chawla 10 12

Harpreet Singh b Green 41 28

Sam Curran (c) c & b Archer 55 29

Jitesh Sharma † b Behrendorff 25 7

M Shahrukh Khan not out 0 0

Harpreet Brar run out

(Tilak Varma/†Ishan Kishan) 5 2

Extras (lb 3, nb 2, w 7) 12

TOTAL 20 Ov (RR: 10.70) 214/8

Calm followed by carnage Bhatia and Curran consolidated for a while, scoring only 22 from the next four overs. But then came the acceleration, and how it came. Hrithik Shokeen's 13-run over, the 15th of the innings, was a bad omen for Mumbai, but instead of bringing back Chawla, who had figures of 2 for 15 from three overs, Rohit went ahead with Tendulkar. Curran and Bhatia smashed him for four fours and two sixes, taking 31 from the over, which also featured a wide and beamer.

Two overs later, Green came in for the punishment. Curran started it with two successive

Did not bat: Arshdeep

Singh, Rahul Chahar

Fall of wickets: 1-18

(Matthew Short, 2.3 ov), 2-65

(Prabhsimran Singh, 6.4 ov), 3-82

(Liam Livingstone, 9.1 ov), 4-83

(Atharva Taide, 9.4 ov), 5-175

(Harpreet Singh, 17.4 ov), 6-197

(Sam Curran, 18.6 ov), 7-209

(Jitesh Sharma, 19.4 ov), 8-214

(Harpreet Brar, 19.6 ov) •

BOWLING O-M-R-W

Arjun Tendulkar 3-0-48-1

Jason Behrendorff 3-0-41-1

Cameron Green 4-0-41-2

Jofra Archer 4-0-42-1

Piyush Chawla