He made a 46-ball 76 during his team's tournament opener.
The MP T20 League 2025 in the State of Madhya Pradesh has begun with a bang, with a plethora of young talent coming into the spotlight. During the Indore Pink Panthers vs Jabalpur Royal Lions match on June 14, Akshat Raghuwanshi was a rising star with a 46-ball 76. The Panthers went on to win the clash by a meagre margin of six runs. After the match, the 21-year-old had an exclusive chat with CricXtasy about the ongoing league and his aspirations.
Talking about his electrifying knock, he expressed, “I had already planned for a century. It was the first match, and I knew it’d be great if we got a good start to the tournament from the very first game. But I missed it by a little. This year too, the intention is to stay at the top. I want to win the Orange Cap. But the first goal is definitely to win the trophy, regardless of the Orange Cap.”
Donning the 45 numbered jersey for the Panthers, Raghuwanshi spoke about his admiration for Rohit Sharma. He also expressed his desire to play for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Initially, my idol was Sachin Tendulkar. My dad used to make me watch him a lot. But over time, I’ve grown to admire Rohit Sharma. I love the elegance with which he plays his shots. I’d love to play for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL,” he said while pointing towards a framed picture of the Indian star behind him.
The Madhya Pradesh player also reflected on the support provided by other IPL players like Rajat Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer. He praised the great culture that manifests among all the State players.
“It’s a great feeling to be complimented by senior players. Venky and Rajat have really helped me. This is the strength of our MP team. There’s a great culture here. All the seniors are very supportive of the juniors who are coming up. Today, when I was batting, I tried two reverse sweeps. After that, I was encouraged to go for bigger shots, and I ended up hitting two sixes,” he added.
The young player swears by continuous practice. After borrowing some tips from the IPL-winning players, Raghuwanshi hopes to showcase his talent on the big stage soon.
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After the Panthers lost their opener, Arpit Gaud, for just eight runs, Raghuwanshi took the Lions’ bowlers a run for their money. His blazing knock of 76 included seven boundaries and five sixes. Rahul Chandrol (29) and Akhil Nigote (22) added vital runs to the board. Skipper Venkatesh Iyer made 16 off 15 balls. After 20 overs, the scoreboard read 183 at the loss of seven wickets. As many as five bowlers had taken one wicket each. Two other batters were run out.
In the second innings, the opening stand of Siddharth Patidar’s 40 and Dharmesh Patel’s 57 looked match-winning for the Lions. But it was followed by a batting collapse as the next four batters could cumulatively manage only five runs. Playing in the No.7 spot, Rahul Batham’s 58 off 36 was tilting the game in their favour before skipper Iyer caught the precious wicket off his own bowling. The tail-end couldn’t add enough runs as they ended with 177 on the board. Mihir Hirwani was the pick of the bowlers with a three-wicket haul while giving away only 23 runs in his quota of four overs.
Indore Pink Panthers won their first match of the tournament by six runs.
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