Delhi-born Indian all-rounder Milind Kumar dazzled in his maiden innings in US Masters T10 League 2023 with a scintillating unbeaten 28-ball 76 for Suresh Raina-led California Knights. Milind shared a massive 158-run partnership with former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis to help the Knights register a comfortable 48-run win over the Texas Chargers.
Milind, Kallis fuse Chargers
After winning the toss, Raina opted to bat first. Aaron Finch got out for a two-ball duck to Fidel Edwards. In the second over, Jallis hit Sohail Tanvir for four fours. Milind went berserk in the fourth over against left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. He hit Ojha for three sixes and a four. In the sixth over, Darren Stevens was hit for two fours and a six. Boundaries kept coming from both ends. Milind reached his half-century from just 17 balls.
Edwards came back into the attack and took a beating. Kallis hit him for two sixes whereas Milind hit one. Kallis reached his half-century in the penultimate over from 26 balls. In the last over, they went after Umar Gul again as two sixes and a four were hit in the 21-run over. Milind's 76-run knock was laced with seven fours and six sixes. On the other end, Kallis hit eight fours and three sixes in his 31-ball 64. The massive partnership helped the Knights post 158/1 on the board.
Nurse inflicts damage
In the run chase, Chargers lost Mohammad Hafeez to Peter Siddle on the second ball of the innings. Mukhtar Ahmed and skipper Ben Dunk looked to score quickly and succeeded. However, Ashley Nurse got rid of both of them in the fourth over. Ahmed scored 33 runs from 10 balls whereas Dunk contributed with a 9-ball 18.
Upul Tharanga remained unbeaten for 19-ball 27 whereas the Chargers kept losing wickets in the run chase. The chargers managed to post 110/8. Nurse took three wickets for 12 runs.
Milind has been picked by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises but he never got a chance to play for any of them despite a good T20 record. His quickfire knock helped the Knights register their first win after their earlier clash ended in no result.
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