Guwahati, Aug 1 — Pradyun Saikia etched his name into the history books by scoring the first half-century of the Assam Premier League (APL), anchoring Charaideo Sunrisers to a thrilling four-wicket victory over Barpeta Braves in the opening match of the inaugural edition of the league at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.
After opting to field, Charaideo Sunrisers produced a clinical chase to overhaul Barpeta Braves' 156/5 with five balls to spare, thanks to a composed innings from Pradyun Saikia, who was helped by a fearless finish from the lower order.
Earlier, Barpeta Braves recovered admirably after an early collapse. Kabir Hassan Desmukh (9 off 7) fell cheaply before Saurav Mousum Dihingia counter-attacked with 28 off 22 balls, striking three fours and two sixes. Himanshu Saraswat then swung the momentum in Charaideo's favour with two quick wickets, dismissing Dihingia and captain Denish Das (0 off 3) to leave the Braves reeling at 42/3 inside six overs.
Abhilash Maurya steadied the innings with a fluent 43 off 31 deliveries, adding a crucial 64-run partnership with wicketkeeper-batter Gaurav Thakuria (25 off 27) to rebuild the innings. Once the pair departed, Arun Sonar provided the late flourish, remaining unbeaten on 37 off just 19 balls, including two fours and three sixes. His unbroken 50-run stand with Bikiran Das (12*) lifted Barpeta to a competitive 156/5.
Chasing 157, Charaideo's innings revolved around Pradyun Saikia, who paced the chase superbly despite wickets tumbling around him. The opener brought up the league's first-ever half-century in just 42 balls before finishing unbeaten on 68 from 46 deliveries, an innings studded with five fours and three sixes.
The Sunrisers, however, found themselves in deep trouble at 76/5 at the end of the 14th over after Barpeta's bowlers kept striking at regular intervals. Shubham Kumar Gupta (1/15), Saifikul Islam (1/36), Bikiran Das (1/31), Kunal Sarma (1/29) and Abhilash Maurya (1/8) all chipped in to leave the chase delicately poised.
With 81 runs needed from the final six overs, Pradyun found an able ally in Amlan Jyoti Das, whose brisk 34 off 22 balls shifted the momentum with a 39-run partnership. After Amlan's departure, Mayukh Hazarika smashed an unbeaten 17 off just eight deliveries, including two towering sixes, as he and Pradyun stitched together an unbroken 58-run stand to seal victory emphatically.
Charaideo plundered the required runs in the final five overs to complete a memorable four-wicket win and begin the inaugural Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water Assam Premier League campaign on a winning note.
Brief scores:
Barpeta Braves 156/5 in 20 overs (Abhilash Maurya 43, Arun Sonar 37*; Saurav Mousum Dihingia 28; Himanshu Saraswat 2/25, Abinash Phukan 1/42)
Charaideo Sunrisers 157/6 in 19.1 overs (Pradyun Saikia 68*, Amlan Jyoti Das 34, Mayukh Hazarika 17*; Shubham Kumar Gupta 1/15, Kunal Sarma 1/29, Saifikul Islam 1/36)
Results: Charaideo Sunrisers beat Barpeta Braves by four wickets