Team Affiliates kept its unblemished record intact at the iFest 2022 to advance to the finals. They defeated the Startups by a massive margin of 103 runs to make their place in the trophy decider. Piyush Sharma was again the star with the bat for the Affiliates in the tournament. However, this victory will be remembered for Mayank Awasthi’s astonishing bowling debut. He destroyed the opponent’s batting line-up despite bowling for the first time for the Affiliates. Vaibhav Goel and Antas Ahuja also made significant contributions in the game.
Here’s how the Affiliates scripted a huge victory in the semifinals:
Team Affiliates were the first ones to bat in the important game. Their inning started with a few hiccups as Jai Sharma, and Tanuj Kwatra could not go past the single-digit scores. Gaurab Borah and Rachit Jain did a fine job consolidating the inning in the middle with their responsible partnership.
Borah contributed 22 while Rachit scored 26 runs. The stability brought by them became a launching platform for Piyush Sharma’s masterclass. He once again shined with the bat after delivering a mind-blowing performance in the previous game as well. Sharma upped the run rate with his 38 off 20, which included 2 gigantic sixes and 3 glorious fours.
Antas Ahuja, the captain, was again the ‘Mr Dependable’ for the team as he did not let the Startups run through the Affiliats’ lower order. He added a valuable 16 runs. Owing to these wonderful contributions, Affiliates finished with a great score of 149 on the board.
Also Read: Team Affiliates Remains Unbeaten in the Group Stage at iFest 2022
Chasing 150, the Startups needed a great spurt at the beginning to stand a chance in the match. However, the Affiliates denied them any opportunity to take the game away by bowling exceptionally well during the powerplay.
Ankit Mandhan delivered the first blows by dismissing both the openers of the Startups. He was helped by a phenomenal catch taken by Gaurab Borah at square-leg to send back Sanju, the most reliable batter of the Startups. After this, it was all Mayank Awasthi and Vaibhav Goel’s show. Awasthi, who was bowling for the first time ever in his career for the Affiliates, surprised everyone with his accuracy and wicket-taking ability. Credit must be given to Antas Ahuja as well for showing faith in Mayank’s ability in an all-important semifinal.
Mayank Awasthi picked 5 wickets by giving only 6 runs in the two overs he bowled. On the other hand, Vaibhav Goel bowled only one over but made his presence felt with two scalps in that. Ronit Nahata was also successful with the bowl; he registered one wicket in the game. Mayank Awasthi was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his brilliant performance.
The Startups tried their best by even going to the lengths of sledging the Affiliates’ players to somehow alter the course of the match. But in the end, the bat and ball do the real talk in a cricket match, and the Affiliates showed it with their conviction in the semifinals. They were relentless in their pursual of victory, which they ultimately secured to advance to the finals. Team Affiliates will now play in the finals from 3 PM onwards at CK Playstation, Noida, to hopefully lift the trophy of iFest 2022.
Team Affiliates is sponsored by vCommission, V3Cars and Proxgy in the iFest 2022.