Southwest's Victorious Start In USAC 2024 Men's National Championship, Courtesy Of Ali Sheikh’s Fantastic Display

Team Red failed to reach target despite having some good names in the playing XI, falling 67 runs short

Player of the Match, Ali Sheikh, celebrating his match-winning century / Rifat Malik.

By Rifat Malik and Haider Abbas

The USAC 2024—Men's National Championship has kicked off in the state of California, and all eight teams were in action on the first day. Southwest was up against team Red in their first match of the tournament, hoping to kickstart their campaign with a victory against a very good batting lineup. Both sides had some exceptional players in their playing XI, including Harmeet Singh, Shayan Jahangir, Rishi Ramesh, Ali Sheikh, and Unmukt Chand.

Toss and Teams

Red won the toss and decided to bowl first, displaying confidence in their batting prowess.

Southwest Playing XI: Aarin Nadkarni, Akhilesh Bodugum, Ali Sheikh, Arir Ali, Harmeet Singh Baddhan, Nitish Kumar, Rushil Ugarkar, Shayan Jahangir*, Shuja Naqvi, Sushant Modani, Zia Shahzad

Red Playing XI: Aman Patel, Arya Garg, Aryan Satheesh, Harikrishnan Nair, Rehman Dar, Rishi Ramesh*, Sanat Misra, Shreyan Satheesh, Shuaib Syed, Unmukt Chand †, Varun Mantha.

Good start by openers, thunderstorm by Ali Sheikh

Southwest had a promising start as the openers made a partnership of 56 runs inside nine overs. Things seemed bleak for Southwest after the dismissal of the top five with just 102 on the board. However, Ali turned the tide and scored a century of the highest order. His 117 consisted of 10 fours and five maximums, taking the match out of the grasp of Red. His innings ensured that Southwest posted a mammoth total of 264, making it almost impossible for the Red side to reach the target. Nadkarni and Udarkar provided good support from the other side of the pitch.

Chand fails to provide a good start, Satheesh tries to salvage it to no avail

Unmukt Chand hasn’t been able to stand up to his reputation as he fails yet again. Red’s were confident in his batting talent as he opened the innings with Rehman Dar but managed to score only 19 runs. His opening partner scored a brilliant half-century, paving the way for the middle order to get to the total. However, only two batters managed to reach double digits, including a well-fought 63 by Shateesh. Despite his heroics with the bat, Red fell way short of the target, losing the match by 67 runs. The huge loss might become a problem for the team as the tournament progresses.

Player of the Match

Ali Sheikh, thanks to his blistering century, was given the Player of the Match award.