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Cricket Players25 sixes between three batters: Prabhsimran Singh outshines Abhishek Sharma's 82, Naman Dhir's 117 in a 265-run chase
Prabhsimran Singh's unbeaten 125 off 47 balls eclipsed Abhishek Sharma's 82 and Naman Dhir's 117 as Jalandhar chased 265 with 19 balls left in the game.
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Abhishek Sharma had already done enough to make the evening his own. Thirty-six balls, 82 runs, seven sixes and a strike rate north of 227 — it was the sort of assault that ordinarily leaves the opposition scrambling merely to stay in the contest.
Prabhsimran Singh responded by going several gears higher. The Jalandhar Warriors opener smashed an unbeaten 125 from just 47 deliveries as his side chased down Amritsar Soormas' imposing 264/5 in only 16.5 overs in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League on Tuesday. What had looked like an extraordinary total after Abhishek and Naman Dhir's fireworks was reduced to little more than a launchpad for one of the competition's most destructive chases.
Prabhsimran struck 14 fours and eight sixes, finishing with a strike rate of 265.96 as Jalandhar stormed to 265/2 with 19 balls still unused.
Abhishek sets the tone, Prabhsimran takes it apart
Amritsar's innings had initially revolved around Abhishek, who walked in after the early loss of Sahaj Dhawan and immediately changed the tempo of the game. The India opener raced to his half-century from only 20 deliveries and was particularly severe on Gurvinder Singh, at one stage hammering three consecutive sixes followed by a four. His 82 from 36 balls contained five fours and seven sixes and came at a strike rate of 227.78.
Alongside Naman Dhir, Abhishek added 151 for the second wicket and carried Amritsar to 156/2 by the end of the 13th over. His dismissal did little to slow them down.
Naman converted his start into a remarkable 117 from 56 deliveries, striking seven fours and 10 sixes. He also took 33 runs from an Abhinav Sharma over, including four sixes, as Amritsar surged past 250. Jashanpreet Singh Sidhu's 12-ball 33 completed the carnage and lifted the Soormas to 264/5.
On most nights, that would have been decisive. Prabhsimran made sure this was not one of them.
Jalandhar blasted 103 runs in the powerplay for the loss of only one wicket, with Prabhsimran reaching fifty from a scarcely believable 16 deliveries. Abhishek's innings, spectacular only an hour earlier, suddenly had company — and soon enough, had been comprehensively overshadowed. Prabhsimran never allowed the required rate to become a factor. Boundaries arrived almost every over as Amritsar's bowlers struggled for any semblance of control.
Vishwanath Pratap Singh contributed a rapid 31 from 12 balls before Harjas Singh-Tandon struck 42 from 21. Prabhsimran and Harjas added 109 for the second wicket, ensuring the chase never drifted towards the improbable despite the enormous target.
Prabhsimran brought up his century from 41 balls and continued attacking rather than simply seeing the chase home. Anmol Malhotra joined him with an unbeaten 53 from 23 balls, the pair adding an unbroken 92 as Jalandhar finished the chase with more than three overs to spare.
Across the match, 529 runs were scored in just 36.5 overs.
Naman had made 117. Abhishek had struck at nearly 228 and hit seven sixes. Amritsar had posted 264. Yet by the end of the night, all of it had been eclipsed. Prabhsimran's 125 not out had turned one of the tournament's most imposing batting performances into merely the opening act.
