Greater Noida (U.P.), Feb 27 : Jatin Saxena smashed 92 off 33 balls while Naman Ojha slammed 49 off 23 as Chhattisgarh Warriors thrashed Telangana Tigers by nine wickets in the ninth match of the Indian Veteran Premier League (IVPL) at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

Telangana Tigers scored 150/7 in the allotted 20 overs. Still, Chhattisgarh Warriors chased down the target in the 11th over on the back of some fiery batting performances from Jatin Saxen and Naman Ojha. Saxena was named as the Player of the Match.

Put into bat first, Telangana Tigers made a promising beginning to the innings but their momentum took a downturn when they suffered the early dismissal of Chris Gayle. Following Gayle's departure, S.S. Bharath Kumar and Shaik Sameer fell cheaply, leaving Telangana Tigers struggling at 74/3 by the 12th over.

A solid partnership between Ricardo Powell and Manpreet Gony helped the team recover, with Powell contributing 37 off 18 balls and Gony adding 30 off 19. Telangana Tigers concluded their innings with a total of 150/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

In pursuit of 151 runs for victory, Chhattisgarh Warriors' openers, Naman Ojha and Jatin Saxena, launched a relentless assault on the Telangana Tigers' bowling attack and stitched a match-winning 141-run stand for the first wicket. While Ojha slammed four sixes, Saxena smashed 8 maximums.

When 10 runs were needed, Jatin Saxena got out on 92 and narrowly missed out on a century. In the end, Chhattisgarh Warriors reached the target in the 11th over, defeating Telangana Tigers by 9 wickets.

Following their resounding victory, Chhattisgarh Warriors are slated to face Rajasthan Legends on Wednesday, while Telangana Tigers will take on Red Carpet Delhi on Friday.

/IANS