Travelling to Norm Minns Oval in Wangaratta for the first of the short format games, the Bushrangers were competitive with both bat and ball, but ultimately fell just short of victory, going down by eight runs.
Winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Bushrangers were under immediate attack from the Magpies openers, who belted 40 runs off the first 3.5 overs before Sharma (1-15) found a breakthrough with the final ball of the fourth over, removing the opposing skipper, Cooper Matheson, for 11.
Matheson’s fellow opener, Tyler Nanson, was doing all the damage, however, belting his way to 37 from only 22 deliveries before Vaughan Kirk (1-20) lulled him into one big swing too many to have him caught, reducing the Magpies to 2-63.
Benalla managed to slow the scoring from there, while also finding regular wickets, with Dale Stratton (1-19) and Xavier De Fazio (1-19) both picking up their first of the afternoon to have Wangaratta four down before putting 100 runs on the board.
Mitchell Wheelens was soon among the action, snaring his first scalp to reduce the home side to 5-108, before doubling up to remove set batter Jack Davies for 24 to leave Wangaratta six down for 119 runs with 14 balls remaining in the innings.
While Conor Brodie would claim one more scalp, the Magpies would add 23 from the final 14 deliveries, taking their total to 7-142, setting Benalla a target of 143.
Bushrangers captain Brayden Stepien and James Carboon opened the batting in positive fashion, with Stepien belting 15 off the third over; however the skipper was forced to depart soon after for 20 after holing out, leaving Benalla at 1-28 after 3.4 overs.
Stepien’s dismissal brought Sharma to the crease, and a first-ball four foreshadowed the madness that was about to ensue.
In a stunning 29-ball stay at the crease, Sharma whacked seven fours and three maximums during a rapid-fire 56 runs, raising the bat to salute his half-century off just 25 deliveries in a stunning cameo.
But Sharma’s departure left Benalla 3-99 after he was caught off the bowling of Fraser Ellis, with Carboon having been earlier run out with the Bushrangers on 87, leaving Kirk and Jonty Priest together in the middle with 44 runs still required for victory and seven overs remaining.
Kirk would be the next to fall, run out for eight as Benalla slumped to 4-105, and while Priest tried to hang in, his departure for six left the Bushrangers in trouble at 5-117.
The next four wickets would tumble for just nine runs as the Bushrangers swung for the fences in pursuit of the win; however, they ultimately lacked the firepower down the order that was needed, finishing on 9-134 from 20 overs to go down by eight runs.
While the win was agonisingly close, the competitiveness of the contest was encouraging for the Bushrangers, who will host City Colts at Benalla Gardens Oval this Saturday for the second of four T20 clashes before Christmas.
