Bengal Pro T20 League, Siliguri Strikers vs Harbour Diamonds: Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal shines as Siliguri beat Diamonds to start with a victory

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The inaugural season of the Bengal Pro T20 League started with a bang as Siliuri Strikers beat Harbour Diamonds in the first match by 8 runs.

Harbour Diamonds captain Manoj Tiwary won the Toss and elected to Bowl first at Eden Gardens.

Siliguri Strikers vs Harbour Diamonds - As it Happened

Servotech Siliguri Strikers came out to bat as Abhishek Raman and Ankur Paul opened the batting for the North Bengal outfit. Abhishek Raman played the first ball while Aman Singh Sekhawat bowled the first delivery. Ankur Paul hit the first boundary of the Bengal Pro T20 league.

Mohammed Kaif picked up the first wicket of the BPL T20 as he dismissed Abhishek Raman, who departed after scoring just 5 runs. Ankur Paul continued his onslaught and scored a well-made 31 before getting dismissed by the bowling of Anurag Tiwari. Strikers were 76 for 4 at the halfway stage, and slumped further as captain Ritwik Roy Chowdhury departed after scoring just a solitary run.

Badal Balyan became the first Impact Substitute in the Bengal Pro T20 League as he replaced Harbour Diamonds bowler Aritra Chatterjee, who was taken off after picking 2 wickets in his four overs.

Vikas and Shantanu added some crucial runs for Siliguri but Prayas Roy Barman broke the partnership by castling Vikas for 20 runs. Shantanu played a decent knock of 44 but Prayas got his wicket to serve another huge blow for the Strikers. In the end, the team from North got bundled out for 141 runs.

The former RCB spinner Prayas Ray Barman was the pick of the bowlers for Harbour Diamonds with three wickets. Their captain Manoj Tiwary also plucked four catches in the innings.

In the run chase, Diamonds lost two quick wickets as Suvankar Bal and Sayan Sekhar Mondal departed early. Siliguri bowled excellently in the powerplay and restricted the Diamonds to a moderate score.

Prayas Ray Barman was the key man for them with the bat as well. He took the attack to the Siliguri bowlers and scored some quick runs in the middle overs. But Vikas got the crucial wicket of the Prayas as the batter departed for 32 runs in just 18 balls after a superb Rajkumar catch in the short fine-leg. At the halfway stage, the Harbour Diamonds were 65 for 4.

Vivek Singh and Kaushik Giri stitched a decent partnership for the Harbours but the latter got dismissed for 12 runs as they lost half a side with 58 runs still to get. HD captain Manoj Tiwary had a struggle as the Siliguri bowlers kept the stranglehold. Badal Balyan played a valiant knock of 37 in just 22 balls but his dismissal in the last over put the curtains in the match. In the end, Harbour Diamonds were skittled for 133 runs and lost the match by 8 runs.

Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal had an outstanding spell as he managed 4 wickets, whereas Rajkumar Pal picked up 3 wickets. India pacer Akash Deep also had an excellent spell as he conceded one wicket for 22 runs in his four overs.

Servotech Siliguri Strikers vs Harbour Diamonds Brief Score

Siliguri Strikers: 141 all out in 19.3 overs (Shantanu 44, Ankur Paul 41; Prayas Ray Barman 3/28)

Harbour Diamonds: 133 all out in 19.5 overs (Badal Balyan 37, Prayas Ray Barman 32; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 4/29)

Result: Siliguri Strikers won by 8 runs