Shahbaz shines as Tapan Memorial defeat Mohun Bagan to win Bengal T20 Challenge
Dec 09, 2020
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 9 : Skipper Shahbaz Ahamed put up an all-round masterclass to lead from the front and guide Tapan Memorial to the Bengal T20 Challenge title beating Mohun Bagan by 33 runs here at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Tapan skipper scored 54 while batting and picked up five wickets leaking just 10 runs in his quota of 4 overs to help Tapan make it three in three wins against Bagan in the tournament.
And the sweetest of them came today in the final after 17 days of non-stop heart-pounding cricket as Tapan Memorial lifted their first-ever Bengal T20 Challenge trophy.
Earlier Mohun Bagan won the toss and elected to bowl first. Tapan Memorial got off to a shaky start losing 4 wickets in exchange for 40 runs as Bagan pacer Akash Deep and experienced spinner Rajkumar Pal bagged 2 wickets apiece.
Skipper Shahbaz Ahmed along with in-form batter Kaif Ahamad came to the rescue of Tapan as they stitched a 78-run partnership.
Shahbaz smashed a fluent 41-ball 54 (2x4, 4x6) before being caught by Akash off Anurag Tiwary while Kaif stayed unbeaten on 39.
"I have been doing it for Tapan. Last evening I had a niggle and physio Aditya da really worked hard to get me fit for today," Shahbaz said in a statement issued by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
"We had a shaky start but Kaif and I had a good partnership and we were always confident that if we bowl in the right spots we could win," the skipper said while receiving the Man of the Match award for the final.
He also congratulated the CAB for hosting such a memorable tournament and said: "I am now used to staying in a bubble. But here I was with old friends and that made a big difference."
While defending Tapan spinners lassoed opponent batter and made their life miserable to take all 10 wickets.
Bagan skipper Anustup Majumdar who is the highest scorer of the tournament with 370 runs also put up a good show with the willow by fighting a lone battle with 32-ball 46.
Ramesh Prasad who became the highest wicket-taker of the tournament by bagging 23 wickets in total got two on Wednesday and Prayas Ray Burman, Vikash Singh, Gaurav Chauhan picked up one wicket apiece.
