Former India U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand played a breezy innings of 29 off just 22 balls against Sydney Thunder in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2021, played on Wednesday (January 19). But his innings along with skipper Aaron Finch’s 82 runs off 64 balls could not prove to be enough as their side Melbourne Renegades lost the BBL match by 1 run.
After coming to bat, Chand defended the first ball but from the second ball he seemed to be on fire as he hooked Daniel Sams for a six. Chand’s innings was comprised of 1 boundary and 2 sixes.
After the match, Chand in his tweet said that it was his “dream come moment” for him to play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Previously, Chand had became the first Indian male cricketer to play in BBL after he played against Hobart Hurricanes. But he only managed to score 6 runs off 8 balls in that fixture.
Chand's tweet
“It's been a dream come true 2 play at the @MCG. Felt a childlike energy entering the G. Not the result we wanted, nonetheless, a gud outing. Hopefully can take a lot of +ves frm this & apply on my nxt & coming adventures. Feels good 2 be back on the big stage. @BBL @RenegadesBBL," he had tweeted.
Batting first, Thunder posted a total of 170 for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Skipper Usman Khawja scored 77 runs off 51 balls and his innings was comprised of 8 boundaries and a six. Another opener, Alex Hales also gave skipper Khwaja a good support as the English batter scored 44 off 22 balls.
Later, Ben Cutting (20 runs off 22 balls) and Nathan McAndrew (13 runs off 7 deliveries) helped their side in reaching a formidable total of 170 runs.
Boyce picks up five wicktets
For Renegades, their Aussie bowler Cameron Boyce proved to be a handy option after the 32-year-old spinner picked up five wickets.
In reply, Renegades skipper Finch started off convincingly as he went to score a half-century but the captain did not get enough support from his other batsmen as his team eventually had to concede a heartbreaking defeat by just a single run.
