When you are sharing the field with a power-hitter like Finn Allen, grabbing attention is no easy feat.
But 22-year-old Sanjay Krishnamurthi managed just that with stunning hitting against New Zealand international Rachin Ravindra during a Major League Cricket (MLC) match between the San Francisco Unicorns and Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum.
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Krishnamurthi plays for the USA. He smashed four consecutive sixes off Ravindra in the 8th over. He started hitting at a crucial point - after Jake Fraser-McGurk’s dismissal in the final over of the powerplay.
Sanjay Krishnamurthi smashes 4 consecutive sixes off Rachin Ravindra
Initially cautious, he settled in with singles before going against the left-arm spinner. All four sixes were into the long-on and deep mid-wicket regions - areas he clearly favours.
The young all-rounder ended with a 36 off just 20 balls, forming a 88-run partnership with Allen in just 37 balls. Allen scored a record-breaking 151 off 51 deliveries; he hit 19 sixes.
But Krishnamurthi’s innings didn’t go unnoticed. San Francisco scored a 269/5 in their 20 overs.
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While chasing, Washington Freedom collapsed to 146 all out in just 13.1 overs. Unicorns won by 123-runs.
Born in Arizona but raised in Karnataka, Krishnamurthi initially dreamt of donning the Indian jersey. But with restrictions on OCI card holders and India’s fierce competition, he chose to continue under the US flag.
"Yeah, from the moment I started playing cricket in India, the goal was to play for India. But... I can’t bank on anything happening," he said.
A student of Computer Science at San Jose University, Krishnamurthi balances academics with cricket.