CCL 2025 Day 6: Match 12 Punjab De Sher defeats Karnataka Bulldozers in match that went down to the wire

One team seemed indomitable, and the other, the underdogs. Today, was the day of the underdog. Punjab De Sher got the better of the Karnataka Bulldozers, registering their second win of the tournament and handing the latter their first loss of the season. While the Shers dominated the Bulldozers in the first innings, in the second, the match hung in the balance, literally swaying between both sides. Even when the ask was down to single digits in the last over for the Bulldozers, the Shers ensured the win slipped out from right under their nose. 

Harrdy Sandhu won the toss and elected to bat first, which is what Sudeep said he would have also chosen if it had gone his way. Even though the Bulldozers have already secured their place in the semi-finals, Sudeep made only one change in the playing 11, resting Anup Bhandari and bringing on Arjun Yogi instead. Punjab De Sher had a couple of early stutters, but Babbal and Ninja stabilized proceedings for a while, until 6 wickets fell in the space of 26 runs. At one point it seemed that they may not make it to a three-figure total, but Anuj got them across, thanks also in part to Darling Krishna, who was quite expensive in the last over. They ended their first innings score at 121 for 8

If the Bulldozers’ track record this season is anything to go by, 122 would not be a target too hard for them. But the Punjab De Sher bowlers made sure it would be. At the end of 5 overs, the Bulldozers could only crawl to 40 runs on the score board, albeit without the loss of wickets. Rajeev got to a 40, but he took a while getting to that figure. Krishna also failed to get cracking, meaning that the Bulldozers eventually conceded a massive 30 run lead, as they ended their endings at 91-3, their lowest first innings score.

When the Shers came back for their second innings, at one point it looked as if the Bulldozers were firmly bringing the match back into their control, with a few early wickets. They were 4 down for only 25 at one point. But the runs still kept coming and by the end of 8 overs, they were at 70-5, with a lead of 100 runs. The Bulldozers bowlers just could not stem the flow of runs, as the ball ran to the boundary or beyond at least once or twice every over much to skipper Sudeep’s displeasure. The Shers ended their innings at 94-8, setting a target of 125 for the win for the Bulldozers.

The run chase began slowly and it took Krishna a while to get into his groove. Manjunath gave him good company for a while, but when he departed, Sudeep came to the crease and got out in the very first ball he faced, making way for first innings opener Rajeev. The Bulldozers got a little relief early on, when the Shers failed to comply with the CCL rule book about deployment of bowlers. Five runs were added to the score card and the ball that was bowled was not considered.

The run chase began slowly and it took Krishna a while to get into his groove. Manjunath gave him good company for a while, but when he departed, Sudeep came to the crease and got out in the very first ball he faced, making way for first innings opener Rajeev. The Bulldozers got a little relief early on, when the Shers failed to comply with the CCL rule book about deployment of bowlers. Five runs were added to the score card and the ball that was bowled was not considered. At all stages of the match, it looked like it could swing either way, and it literally went down to the wire. But then, Jassie Gill’s last over shut the door on the Bulldozers, when they lost 3 wickets and lost by 3 runs.

On February 23, the second day of the Surat leg of CCL 2025, there will be two more matches that will mark the end of the group stage, with each team having played four. The first match will have the defending champions, Bengal Tigers against Telugu Warriors. Then, Punjab De Sher comes back for their final match against the Mumbai Heroes. Catch all the action from CCL 2025 in Surat on Sony Sports Ten 3 and JioHotstar.