U15 Sabres v Henley Under 15 Panthers

Sabres Chase Down 100 at Shiplake as Siddharth Kumar Stars with Bat

Sonning U15 Sabres secured a four-wicket victory over Henley Under 15 Panthers at Shiplake College on 5 July, chasing down a target of 100 with four balls to spare in this BYCL Under 15 T20 Challenge fixture.

Henley captain Toby Oseman won the toss and elected to bat, but his side were immediately under pressure when he was caught by wicketkeeper Yusuf Malik off the bowling of Namit Desai for just 2 off three balls, leaving the hosts at 2-1. Noah Perrone and Harry Monahan steadied things with a partnership of 20 for the second wicket before Elias Haidari bowled Perrone for 7. Monahan offered the most resistance of the top order, striking two fours in his 12 from 16 balls before being bowled by Ismail Raza, who also had Palash Mehta caught behind by Malik for a duck in the same spell to finish with excellent figures of 2-7 from his three overs.

At 41-5, Henley were in deep trouble, but Archie Thomas dug in with a patient 13 from 34 deliveries. His seventh-wicket stand of 42 with Jackson McDavid, who contributed 8 from 24 balls, hauled Henley towards respectability. Desai broke the partnership when McDavid edged to Malik — the wicketkeeper's third catch of the innings — and then effected the run out of Thomas and Percy Findlater in quick succession as the last three wickets fell without addition. Henley were bowled out for 99 in their 20 overs, with extras contributing a significant 47 runs, including 33 wides, to their total.

Captain Desai led from the front with 2-18 from three tidy overs, while Raza's 2-7 was the pick of the Sabres bowling. Krishna Manikandan and Sanvik Myadam each chipped in with a wicket apiece as all eight Sonning bowlers were used across the innings.

The Sabres' reply got off to a strong start thanks to opener Siddharth Kumar, who played the innings of the match. Kumar struck four boundaries in a fluent 30 from 27 balls and put on 33 for the first wicket with Ishan Jithendriya, who contributed 4 before being bowled by Oseman. Kumar retired not out with the chase well established, having given Sonning the platform they needed.

Yusuf Malik anchored the middle overs with a watchful 6 from 21 balls, featuring in a second-wicket stand of 24 with Idris Malik. However, Archie Thomas proved as valuable with the ball as he had with the bat, claiming 3-13 from his three overs to drag Henley back into the contest. He stumped Idris Malik and had Desai caught by Monahan in quick succession, before removing Sibikumar Muthukumaran — who had struck two fours in a brisk 9 from seven balls — caught by Oseman. At 74-5, the chase wobbled.

Pranoy Ramankandath held his nerve superbly, hitting two fours in an unbeaten 14 from 15 deliveries. His crucial sixth-wicket partnership of 24 with Elias Haidari steadied the ship, and although Haidari fell caught for 2 with the scores level at 98-6, Ismail Raza arrived to see Sonning home. Ramankandath struck the winning runs in the 20th over, sealing a deserved victory that earned the Sabres a full 20 league points.