USA Cricket News

USA Cricket: Krishnamurthi’s epic 167* helps USA A chase down Scotland’s 340 to win by 7 wickets

2024 Oct 24 by DreamCricket USA

Sanjay Krishnamurthi produced one of the great innings in American cricket history with a savage attack on the Scotland bowling unit, belting 14 fours and nine sixes during an unbeaten 167 off 120 balls to help USA A pull off a mammoth chase. 

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Grand Prairie, Texas (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
In one of the most extraordinary batting displays ever seen in red, white and blue colors, 21-year-old USA A squad middle-order batter Sanjay Krishnamurthi pummeled Scotland’s bowling attack for the best part of three hours around Grand Prairie Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, torching them for 14 fours and nine sixes, including a game-ending 100-yard drive over the Sports Bar & Grille beyond the long-on boundary to put the exclamation point on a memorable chase as USA A hauled down Scotland’s first innings total of 340 for 7 with nine balls to spare in a seven-wicket win. Krishnamurthi finished unbeaten on 167 off 120 balls, batting the bulk of the chase with Nitish Kumar with whom he shared a 235-run partnership, the largest stand in USA Cricket history although it will not count as an official record due to the nature of the 14-a-side 50-over warm-up match. 

 

Krishnamurthi came to the crease in the sixth over of the chase after USA A had already suffered two early setbacks while staring at a massive total. Sushant Modani was bowled for 10 in the fifth over, beaten through the gate attempted to drive an inswinger from left-arm pace bowler Brad Currie. USA A captain fell in the following over for 23, miscuing an attempting flick over midwicket off medium pace allrounder Brandon McMullen that failed to clear Scott Currie inside the ring to make it 36 for 2. 
 
Kumar had been at the crease for several minutes when Krishnamurthi walked out, but it would be several hours before the pair would be separated. After two boundaries early in his knock, Krishnamurthi gave a harbinger of things to come when he began the 13th over by driving a full delivery from Scott Currie’s right arm pace back over his head into the sightscreen for six. It took Krishnamurthi’s strike rate above a run a ball and the only time it came back under 100 for the rest of his innings was for a solitary delivery in the 19th against left-arm spinner Mark Watt. Krishnamurthi started the over with a dot to set his total at 28 off 29 balls before driving another straight six into the black background behind Watt. He then brought up a 41-ball half-century in Watt’s next over, using the pace off a quicker ball delivered from 26 yards by Watt by opening the face of the bat to glide it past wicketkeeper Matthew Cross to the third man boundary for his fifth four. 
 
Krishnamurthi’s only genuine life came in the following over on 51 when he drove fast bowler Brad Wheal flat in the air toward mid-off, where Chris Sole leaped up from his position at mid-off to try to intercept the drive but only managed to get part of his right hand to the ball going for a one-handed screamer high above his head. Krishnamurthi then bashed Watt out of the attack in the 23rd by belting him for two fours and a six to bring up the century partnership with Kumar. 
 
Wheal switched ends to replace Watt from the Racecourse End for the 25th over and Kumar tapped him for a single into midwicket to bring up a 63-ball half-century which included seven fours at that stage. The single also put Krishnamurthi on strike, after which he smoked a short ball from Wheal over midwicket for six before driving him for four through extra cover to move into the 70s. He moved into the 90s in the 30th over by blitzing Michael Leask’s offspin for six with a straight drive into the sightscreen at the River/Pavilion End. By the time drinks arrived after 32 overs, he had reached 99. 
 
However, the wait to resume play didn’t disturb him. After playing out four dots to start the 33rd, he tapped a single down the ground off Scott Currie to bring up a 79-ball century at which point he had struck nine fours and five sixes. But more carnage was on the way as he sprinted to the finish by scoring another 67 off his final 41 balls at the crease. 
 
After a mostly sedate innings, Kumar exploded in the 35th against Scott Currie by hitting two sixes, the latter of the two pulled over square leg to bring up a double-century stand, before ending the over with a four to move to 98. Kumar ended the 36th over on 99, but had to wait to get back on strike as Krishnamurthi feasted on McMullen in the early part of the 37th, clubbing two fours and a six during a 19-run over. But the frame ended with Kumar chipping a two over wide long-off to bring up a 102-ball century as he took just 40 balls to move from 50 to 100 in a kock that featured 10 fours and three sixes. 
 
After a single by Krishnamurthi to start the 38th, the marathon partnership and Kumar’s innings both came to an end when he drove down the wrong line to Watt and was bowled for 101 to make it 271 for 3. By this stage, a once daunting target turned into a very manageable 70 off of 76 balls required. Utkarsh Srivastava joined Krishnamurthi and the two took USA the rest of the way with an unbroken 74-run partnership. 
 
The only mild drama to occur in the remainder of play was when Krishnamurthi took a wild heave across the line on the first ball of the 47th over when USA needed 25 off the final 24 balls and skied a chance to long-on that was put down by McMullen. But Krishnamurthi was sprinting for two runs the moment the ball left his bat, fully aware before Brad Currie ran in to deliver the ball that Scotland was about to commit a fielding restriction no ball by only having three players inside the ring, which was subsequently signaled by the on-field umpires. 
 
A single in the 48th over took Krishnamurthi to 150 off 114 balls before his innings reached a magnificent crescendo in the 49th. With USA needing 12 off 12 balls, Krishnamurthi took on Brad Currie and drove a full ball into the reserved seats over long-on for six. A knee high full toss wide outside off stump on the next delivery was sliced off the toe of the bat through third man for four to take USA within two runs of victory. He wrapped up the match on the next ball, blasting his biggest six of the day by launching a full delivery even deeper over long-on, clearing the roof of the Sports Bar & Grille at the Racecourse End. While all the attention was on Krishnamurthi for ending 167 not out and hitting the winning runs, Srivastava played a quietly impressive knock alongside him to finish out the match unbeaten on 29 off 39 balls with two fours. 
 
McMullen was the Scotland bowler who had the best economy on the day, ending with 1 for 45 in eight overs. Watt returned 1 for 65 in nine overs while Brad Currie ended with 1 for 72 in 8.3 overs as Scotland’s other wicket-takers on the day. Scott Currie ended with the second highest economy rate on the day, conceding 0 for 47 off six overs. Chris Sole (0 for 41 off seven), Wheal (0 for 31 off four) and Leask (0 for 41 off six) also went wicketless. 
 
USA A’s bowling attack got a reality check in the first innings as Scotland’s batting unit piled on the runs to set a stiff target. A day after bowling out Nepal for 81, only five wickets were taken by the home bowling unit across the 50 overs. It looked promising initially for USA A as left-arm pacer Ayan Desai dismissed Charlie Tear on the second ball of play after the Scotland opener left alone an inswinger only to see the ball come back and crash into the top of off stump. 
 
But it would be just short of two hours before USA A would see the back of another Scotland batter as McMullen and Andrew Umeed teamed for a 172-run partnership. Umeed was the first to reach 50, doing it off 45 balls in the 14th over and dominated the stand by bullying USA A’s bowlers, both pace and spin. He brought up a century off 86 balls in the 27th over by pulling Abhishek Paradkar over midwicket for his third six to go along with 12 fours. After a single to get off strike, the over ended when McMullen sliced a low drive to Desai at extra cover for 63 off 72 balls that included six fours and two sixes. Having had enough time in the middle, Umeed walked off with him and retired out on 101 as the score read 173 for 3. 
 
Scotland began the 28th over with captain Richie Berrington and Michael Jones in the middle and the pair added 49 before Berrington was harshly given lbw for 28 after being late on a sweep to Yasir Mohammad, though replays indicated that the Scotland captain was struck well outside the line of off stump. Jones was joined by Cross and the pair added 66 together in a partnership dominated by Jones. He finished with 54 off 40 balls, striking three fours and three sixes along the way, before he fell to Ali Sheikh’s left-arm spin, cramped for room trying to back away to go over the short off side boundary and instead skied an easy catch to Modani on the ring at extra cover in the 44th
 
Cross fell in the 48th for 40 off 33 balls to make it 312 for 6 when he pulled Aarin Nadkarni’s pace to Mohammad at deep midwicket. Scotland still added 28 off the last 15 balls thanks to a late flurry from Leask and Watt as the final wicket fell on the last ball of the innings when Leask tried to take a non-existent second run. Kwame Patton Jr’s relay from deep square leg to Jariwala at the striker’s end arrived in time to end the innings and dismiss Leask officially for 25 off 22 balls. Watt ended on 13 not out off 8 balls. 
 
Sheikh bowled impressively to finish with 1 for 30 off seven overs. Fellow spinner Mohammad ended with 1 for 38 off eight. USA A’s pace bowlers each took one wicket but were expensive as Desai (1 for 65 off eight), Nadkarni (1 for 51 off eight) and Paradkar (1 for 77 off nine) all conceded scoring at more than a run a ball. Likewise, spinners Zia Shahzad (0 for 34 off five) and Vatsal Vaghela (0 for 44 off five) were also costly. 
 
Scotland’s next match on tour will be against the USA senior side on Friday morning when the two sides square off in the first official ODI of the Cricket World Cup League Two ODI tri-series starting at 10:30 am inside Grand Prairie Stadium.