The Rewa Jaguars opener Akshat Raghuvanshi scored a fabulous 85 off just 32 balls against the Bhopal Leopards. The youngster has been in fabulous touch and he seems to be just carrying on from his blistering knock in the previous game. Raghuvanshi stitched a brilliant partnership of 118 runs with his skipper Prithviraj Singh Tomar at the other end. He have the Jaguars the perfect start and he laid the foundation for a massive total in the first innings. Raghuvanshi was striking at 265.62 after 32 balls he faced and his knock consisted of 6 fours and 9 sixes.
In the first innings of the game, the Rewa Jaguars ended up with a total of 203 on board and they would feel like they had missed out on some crucial runs at the back end. Considering the start they got, a 230 plus total was very well on the cards but their lower order couldn’t provide the kind of finish they needed. The reason they crossed the 200-run mark itself was due to the powerful knocks from Akshat Raghuvanshi, Prithviraj Singh and Sagar Solanki. The Bhopal Leopards will be riding on the confidence that their bowlers generated in the back end of the first innings.
Leopards’ late fightback restricts Jaguars from strong finish
The Holkar Stadium in Indore is considered as a batting paradise with its flat track and short boundaries. Today, we saw a prime example of it when Akshat Raghuvanshi stamped his authority on the game with some exquisite shot-making. The bowlers of the Leopards were struggling to contain the flow of runs but they couldn’t find a way to stop the runs flowing from his bat. His partnership with his skipper is what took the game completely away from the Bhopal Leopards and an early wicket could have helped them in their cause. Akshat Raghuvanshi is proving to be an incredible top-order batter despite his lack of runs in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants.
However, the Bhopal Leopards fought back magnificently with the ball as they picked some big wickets in the middle phases of the game. They picked up 4 wickets for just 40 runs and the Rewa Jaguars were just throwing the game away at that moment. Himanshu Shinde proved to be their best bowler of the day with two wickets and he gave away just 21 runs. Most of their bowlers were expensive with their spells but their wicket taking ability at the death proved to be key. Chasing down a 200 plus total is never an easy task in the T20 format, but the Bhopal Leopards could fancy their chances with the short boundary length and the dew factor in the run chase.
