CCL 2024: Bengal Tigers trounce Punjab De Sher; move up on points table

On March 8, when the Bengal Tigers and Punjab De Sher took the field in Mohali, Chandigarh, for their third match, both sides knew how important it would be. These were the only two sides that had played only two group stage matches at this point; the Bengal Tigers had won one and lost the other, while the Punjab De Sher side had lost both their encounters and absolutely needed a win to have a glimmer of hope of remaining in the reckoning in the tournament.

But then, the Bengal Tigers were determined to make this match count and boy did they go at it after winning the toss. The first innings did not really go as per plan, but was still a decent total, which the Punjab De Sher team crossed comfortably, but then the Tigers returned to the field all guns blazing and almost came close to overcoming the innings total record set by the Karnataka Bulldozers last week. Sonu Sood’s team fought valiantly to chase this down, but eventually, a 141-run target proved a tad much for them.

In their first set of 10 overs, the Bengal Tigers could muster only 92 runs, thanks mainly to Jammy Banerjee’s knock of 40 from 24. In response, Punjab De Sher got to 97 and a meagre 5 run lead. This meant that the Tigers had to up their game and not only set a three-figure target, but one that would make it difficult to chase.

That’s exactly what they did, with Rahul and Joy powering the team to 146 for the loss of 6 wickets, with scores of 69 and 57, respectively. Rahul also came back to bowl and took 4 wickets, which helped a great deal in restricting the Punjab side to their eventual total of 115 for 7. Not surprisingly, Rahul was adjudged the Badshah of the Match for his contribution with both bat and ball.

The match statistics meant that the Bengal Tigers have now propelled themselves to second place on the points table, just below the Bulldozers, who have lost all three matches so far. This, in effect, has knocked the Mumbai Heroes out of the top 4, making it imperative that they win their encounter against Punjab De Sher with a big margin. The Bengal Tigers play the Bhojpuri Dabanggs on March 9, a team that has lost all three group stage matches and will play for a consolation win at least.