Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup 2023: How did the IPL players fare on Day 3 of the tournament?

Kerala bagged an exciting three-wicket victory over Chhattisgarh Red in the fifth contest of the Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup 2023 on Sunday (October 1). On the other hand, Jharkhand secured a decent win over Andhra in the sixth game.

The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur hosted both these encounters.

In the fifth game, Kerala chose to field first after winning the toss. Chhattisgarh Red’s opening duo of Shashank Chandraker and Anuj Tiwary looked in top-class form, stitching together a 81-run partnership for the first wicket. Mayank Yadav, batting at No. 3, continued the momentum with his 32 runs off 27 deliveries.

Abhimanyu Chauhan and Vishal Kushwah, batting in the middle overs, did a decent job, taking their side to an imposing total of 178/5 in 20 overs. Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan, the left-arm pacer, was the star bowler for Kerala with two wickets.

During the chase, Krishna Prasad moved up to open the innings as an experiment by Kerala. He began the side’s innings with an outstanding knock of 62 runs in 46 balls.

The other batters, however, failed to create a significant impact, taking Kerala to 88/7 in 10.1 overs. However, Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan had other plans in mind. After shining with the ball in the first innings, he smacked a 60-run unbeaten knock off 30 balls to take his side over the line with eight balls to spare.

In the second match of the day, Andhra were forced to bat first after losing the toss. Manyala Pranith, the opener, contributed with a 34-run knock off 25 balls. Skipper Ricky Bhui was exceptional with his 53 runs off 38 deliveries.

In the death overs, Nitish Kumar Reddy's 36 runs from 23 balls took Andhra to a formidable total of 168/7 in 20 overs. Vikas Kumar was the star bowler for Jharkhand, bagging three wickets in the first innings.

In reply, Jharkhand openers faltered badly. However, No. 3 batter Vikash Vishal stood up to the occasion. He was well supported by Mohit Kumar, who stood tall till the end of the chase with his unbeaten 54-run knock off 44 balls.

Eventually, Jharkhand clinched the victory with six balls to spare and five wickets in hand. Cheepurapalli Stephen, Tripurana Vijay, Lalith Mohan, and Manish Golamaru picked up one wicket apiece but in vain.

On that note, let’s take a look at how the IPL players fared on Day 3 of the Chhattisgarh Men's T20 Invitation Cup 2023.

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Saurabh Tiwary (Jharkhand)

Saurabh Tiwary opened the innings and failed to create any impact, scoring just two runs off six balls. His knock was cut short by Andhra left-arm pacer Cheepurapalli Stephen.

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Ricky Bhui (Andhra)

Captain-cum-wicketkeeper-batter Ricky Bhui stole the show with his 53-run knock off 38 balls, featuring six fours and one six at a strike rate of 139.47. However, his knock ended in a losing cause.

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Sachin Baby (Kerala)

Kerala skipper Sachin Baby failed to make it count in both the batting and bowling departments. With the ball, he conceded 17 runs in two overs. With the willow, he scored 13 runs off eight balls, including two fours.