Batbricks7

Mid-Atlantic and South stand tied at 7 points.

Heavy rains played spoilsport in Houston on the second day of the national T20. Three of the scheduled games had to be curtailed before the start of play while the remaining three were abandoned within the first power play of the first innings. With a solitary group game to go, Mid-Atlantic and South stand tied at 7 points each followed by South West at 5 points as the race to the top 2 intensifies.

After holding his nerve to win the game for South with a final-ball boundary, Hanchard Hamilton made the most of his shot at the top of the order against East. Walking into bat in the first over after Koushik Saha's golden duck, Hamilton threw caution to the winds with some expansive shots. He teamed with Sanjay Stanley (41 off 31) to add 87 for the second wicket enroute his swashbuckling innings of 60 off 33. Utkarsha Srivastava's cameo of 24 off 7 deliveries provided the final flourish for South to reach a formidable score of 131 in 12 overs. In response, the big hitting Syed Abdullah tormented the South bowlers with a whirlwind 69 off 32. The knock, however, went in vain as South prevailed by 19 runs thanks to a thrifty spell from Hardik Desai, conceding 18 in his 3 overs.

Mid Atlantic trounced Mid West by 7 wickets after yet another shoddy outing for the MidWest batsmen. Handicapped by Fahad Babar's lack of runs at the top of order and an overall timid approach to batting, Mid West continued their annihilation for 3rd game in a row. Chasing 76 in 15 overs, Mid Atlantic were put in a spot of bother with a couple of early strikes. Jaskaran Malhotra continued from where he left off on day one as he refused to provide further sniff for Mid West. Malhotra's brisk 44 off 25 deliveries and his ball striking ability on display at the tournament may tip the scales in his favor for a return to the national side just before the World Cup.

South West made light work of West's ask of 120, racing home in style as Harmeet Singh smoked 3 sixes in 3 deliveries with 3 overs to spare. Shayan Jahangir squandered yet another start after dashing to 20 off 8 deliveries. A new look Sushant Modani kept the West at bay with an enterprising 31 before Nisarg Patel's double strikes accorded them with a foot in the door. However, Harmeet was quick to call the curtains in a jiffy, carting 24 off 6.