Nairobi — Fearless Fighters went down for the second time in two days when they lost by 17 runs to Ayodhya Warriors in a tense clash of the Ghanshyam-T10 tournament at the Cutchi Leva grounds on Monday night.

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Jasraj Kundi, the dynamic all-rounder of Sikh Union, whose courageous half-century went unrewarded.

Despite his explosive innings of 51 runs, featuring four towering sixes off a mere 22 balls, Fearless Fighters stumbled at 106 for 5 in pursuit of Ayodhya Warriors' 123 runs, largely due to Rajesh Bhudia's menacing bowling spell of 2 for 19 in two overs.

Reflecting on the defeat, Kundi expressed his disappointment, stating, "We fought hard, but the target proved impossible. Our fielding performance wasn't up to par, conceding too many runs in the crucial middle overs, which ultimately left us chasing the game and falling short."

The chase didn't begin as smoothly as Fearless Fighters had hoped, with three wickets tumbling for just 22 runs within three overs.

Although Aezaz Kothariya and Kundi briefly revived hopes with a 25-run partnership, Samarth Vyas dashed those hopes by dismissing Kothariya for 25, leaving Kundi to carry the burden of stabilizing the innings.

Despite Kundi's relentless onslaught, finding boundaries at regular intervals, the constant loss of partners on the opposite end made the chase increasingly challenging.

The standout moment of the Kothariya-Kundi partnership occurred in the fourth over when Nehemiah Odhiambo was ruthlessly punished for 21 runs.

In the earlier phases of the match, Peter Koech's commendable bowling effort of 2 for 16 couldn't derail the formidable duo of Samarth Vyas (44) and Ryan Burl (38) from laying a solid foundation for Ayodhya Warriors.

While Koech provided an early breakthrough by dismissing Tanzeel Sheik in the first over, Vyas and Burl's formidable second-wicket partnership of 79 runs in six overs proved decisive in Ayodhya Warriors' triumph.