U13 Scorchers v Reading Under 13 - Lions

Scorchers Post 170 as Sivaram and Dollinger Power Home Victory

Sonning U13 Scorchers delivered a commanding batting display at King George's Field, posting 170 all out before restricting Reading to 124 for 9 to claim a comprehensive victory in the BYCL Under 13 Blast North West league fixture.

Reading won the toss and chose to field, but were made to pay as Sonning's top order set about building a formidable total. Charlie Bright anchored the early innings with a composed 30 from 30 balls, striking six boundaries as he provided the platform the Scorchers needed. After Finley Andrews fell for just 1 in the second over, Bright shared a useful 30-run stand with Tejus Maddi for the second wicket, keeping the scoreboard ticking despite Maddi managing only 5 from 18 deliveries before being bowled by Sahib Singh Khatter.

The real fireworks came from Saurav Sivaram, who smashed a brilliant 36 off just 24 balls, launching four sixes alongside two fours in an explosive display of hitting. Sivaram put on 43 with Elijah Patel for the third wicket, a partnership that took the score from 42 to 85 and shifted the momentum firmly in Sonning's favour. Patel contributed a handy 10 from 11 balls, including two boundaries, before being bowled by Dhvaneet Suthar.

Captain Jamie Dollinger then produced the innings' most destructive cameo, blazing an unbeaten 34 from just 15 deliveries. Dollinger cleared the rope twice and found the boundary five more times as he took the Reading attack apart. Despite a flurry of wickets at the other end — Oliver Barker stumped for a duck, Henry Bright bowled for nought, and Divik Gupta run out without scoring — Dollinger's assault, combined with Namit Desai's supporting 8, ensured the Scorchers reached a challenging 170. The extras column also told a story, with Reading conceding 46 extras, including 24 wides spread across their ten bowlers. Kapish Sharma was the pick of the Reading attack, taking 2 for 23 from his two overs.

In reply, Reading found themselves in immediate trouble as Namit Desai produced a superb opening spell of 2 for 5 from his two overs. He trapped Aristo Voltaire lbw for 5 and then bowled Vikyath Ragi for a golden duck, leaving Reading reeling at 10 for 2. A further run out of Gautam Singh and the dismissal of captain Pragnan Chengalva, also run out, saw the visitors slump to 33 for 4.

Dhvaneet Suthar provided the backbone of Reading's reply, batting through much of the innings to make 29 from 31 balls with five fours. He shared a valuable 24-run partnership with Sahib Singh Khatter, who struck three boundaries in a quickfire 13 before falling lbw to Dollinger. The Sonning skipper then struck again immediately, bowling Avyukt Bagga for a duck to finish with excellent figures of 2 for 13. Vidhu Tripathi offered further resistance with 19 from 28 balls, putting on 33 with Viyaan Kasaram for the seventh wicket, but the required rate was always climbing beyond reach.

Saurav Sivaram was also impressive with the ball, conceding just 3 runs from his two overs, while Daniel Moseley was similarly economical with 2-0-5-0. Charlie Bright picked up the wicket of Kasaram, caught by Andrews, and Finley Andrews himself bowled Tripathi to cap a fine all-round team performance. Suthar was eventually run out for 29, and with Reading finishing on 124 for 9, the Scorchers ran out comfortable winners by 46 runs.