Sagar Kalyan roars back with unbeaten century in GHK Properties’ big win

By K.R. Nayar

Sharjah. Sagar Kalyan, well known for his tall scores in UAE’s domestic cricket, announced his return to form with an unbeaten 100 to steer GHK Properties to a six-wicket win over Macwise Titans in the 49th Bukhatir League, sponsored by Seven Districts, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Kalyan, who loves to go for his shots, hit his century off 74 balls, with 11 boundaries and four sixes. This helped GHK reach the target in just 23.5 overs.

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Macwise, electing to bat, could muster only 161 due to a deadly four-wicket spell from Rohan Mustafa. If not for No. 9 batter Saneen Latheef, who top-scored with 32 runs, Macwise would have been bowled out for less than 150.

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Sagar Kalyan receives the Player of the Match award from match refeee Tehseen Javed 

Tale of Kalyan's unbeaten 100 

Kalyan’s knock was akin to a lion waking up from his slumber. Speaking about his century, he said: “I am so happy to have scored this century in the Bukhatir League due to many factors. The main reason is that while playing for UAE during the Netherlands tour, I did not get a big score —my knocks were only around 25 runs. So I was very particular about regaining my habit of big scores through a century. This will add to my confidence.”

Kalyan had previously hit scores of 196 and 130 in earlier editions of the Bukhatir League. “This is my fourth century in the Bukhatir League. A century in this tournament, which is the oldest, is very prestigious. This tournament, held under the best facilities at a historic venue, is played by the best players in the UAE. So when one gets among the runs in this league, it gives a huge boost.”

Sagar Kalyan with the Player of the Match award

The 28-year-old Kalyan, who hails from Haryana, has cracked many tons in tournaments across Dubai, Ajman, and Sharjah. “In Sharjah, I have scored consistently in all the CBFS tournaments—be it the D10, D20, or D50 events. I want to extend my form and post the same big scores for the UAE national team too. I am working hard, and this century, after a short gap, is the reward for that hard work.”

Macwise’s batting failed to click against the experience of Rohan Mustafa. The allrounder, who has captained the UAE, kept striking repeatedly, dismissing anyone who tried to settle. Mustafa’s spell began after Muhammad Irfan removed both openers with the score on 27. The first to go was Aryansh Sharma in the third over, caught behind by wicketkeeper Yasir for 5 off Irfan. Opener Aaryan Madani followed, caught by Shahbaz Ali for 15 also off Irfan. Meanwhile, Shahbaz got one-drop Vaibhav Vaswani out, caught by Mustafa for 11.

Rohan Mustafa.. deadly four wicket spell 

Sahil Harani and Syed Makhdoom tried to steady the innings, but at 81, Mustafa picked up the first of his four wickets—clean bowling Harani for 23. Makhdoom and Raunak Vaswani took the total past the 100-run mark, but Mustafa struck again, trapping Makhdoom leg-before for 25. With half the side back in the pavilion at 103, runs became hard to come by. Vaswani also fell soon after, clean bowled by Harshit Kaushik for 16.

Mustafa returned to get Adithya Shetty caught and bowled for 1, while Kaushik trapped skipper Sanchit Sharma leg-before for a duck. The score read 106 for 8 when Saneen Latheef and Rahul Bhatia fought hard to lift their team’s total. They put on 52 runs for the ninth wicket before Mustafa bagged his fourth wicket, getting Latheef caught by Kalyan for 32. His knock off 35 balls included six boundaries. Kalyan, also contributing as a bowler, then trapped last man Sailles Jaishankar leg-before for 2. Rahul Bhatia remained unbeaten on 15 as Macwise was bowled out for 161 in 34.3 overs.

GHK Properties began their chase by losing their opener and skipper Humaj Gondal to the third ball of the first over from Sanchit Sharma for 4. Kalyan began his big hits, scoring a six off Sharma and then hitting Sailles Jaishankar for two consecutive boundaries. Angad Nehru got Mustafa caught by Rahul Bhatia for 22 in the eighth over. Mustafa and Kalyan had put on 54 runs for the second wicket.

Macwise Titans skipper Sanchit Sharma with GHK Properties'captain Humaj Gondal during the toss  

Nehru bowled a maiden 10th over, but Kalyan hit him for a six in the 12th. In the 14th over, GHK lost wicketkeeper Yasir, caught by Nehru off Syed Makhdoom for 3. Kalyan reached his half-century in 46 balls. He hit Makhdoom for a four and a six to take the total past the 100-run mark. He also struck Jaishankar for two consecutive boundaries in the 17th over, but in the same over, Mohit Kalyan fell—caught behind by wicketkeeper Aryansh Sharma for 16.

Kalyan turned more aggressive, smashing Makhdoom for three consecutive boundaries in the 18th over. He also hit Jaishankar for another six. Kalyan reached his century in 74 balls, while Mayank Choudhry, who played second fiddle in the unbeaten 49-run partnership with seven runs, hit the winning run off Vaswani.

Brief scores:
GHK Properties bt Macwise Titans by 6 wkts. Macwise Titans 161 in 34.3 overs (Sahil Hariani 23, Syed Makhdoom 25, Saneen Latheef 32, Muhammad Irfan 2 for 33, Rohan Mustafa 4 for 29, Harshit Kaushik 2 for 5) GHK Properties 162 for 4 in 23.5 overs (Rohan Mustafa 22, Sagar Kalyan 100n.o)
Player of the Match: Sagar Kalyan