Panaji: Dempo Cricket Club will clash with Chowgule Sports Club in the final of Goa Premier Division League 2025-26 organised by Goa Cricket Association.
Chowgule Sports Club (21 points) had confirmed their place in the grand finale on Saturday itself; and after the fifth and final league round concluded on Sunday, Dempo Cricket Club (15 points) secured the second position to move into the first-ever pink ball
final.
The highly-anticipated title clash will be played from April 15 to 17 at the GCA Academy ground, Porvorim under a day-night format.
In the fifth round, Dempo Cricket Club defeated Panjim Gymkhana by five wickets. On the other hand, Geno Sports Club had to be content with points from the first-innings lead.
At the Bandodkar ground of Panjim Gymkhana, the hosts, Panjim Gymkhana, batting first against Dempo, were dismissed for 143 runs. Soham Panvlkar scored 51 runs to offer some resistance, while Afridsab added 27 runs. Dempo bowlers maintained accuracy and did not allow the opposition to build a big total. Dempo then took the lead by scoring 266 runs in the first innings. Snehal Kavthankar scored a century of 119 runs and became the backbone of the innings. Aaditya Kota (61) supported him well. Abhinandan Thakur tried to bring Panjim back into the match by taking five wickets. In the second innings, Panjim Gymkhana fought back well and scored 270 runs. Ishaan Gadekar (56), Soham Panvlkar (53 not out), and Vijesh Prabhudesai (35) played useful knocks. This set a target of 148 runs for Dempo. Dempo achieved the target, losing five wickets. Abhinav Tej Rana (35), Aaditya Kota (30), and Sarthak Bhike (30) played composed innings to take the team to victory. Shadab Khan took four wickets to offer resistance, but the win went to Dempo.
Meanwhile, in the three-day match at the NAPEX ground in the league, Salgaocar Cricket Club could not take the lead despite scoring 351 runs in the first innings. Their Yash Kasvankar played an attractive knock of 121 runs, while Shantanu Nevagi (49) and Piyush Yadav (39) also contributed. In reply, Geno Sports Club batted strongly and scored 385 runs to take a lead of 34 runs. Vikas Singh (87), Manthan Khutkar (57), and Nihal Surlkar (41) performed notably.
In the second innings, Salgaocar scored 243 for 8. Amulya Pandrekar remained unbeaten on 50 to steady the innings, while Shantanu Nevagi scored 47 runs. Nihal Surlkar bowled impressively and took six wickets. The match ended in a draw due to lack of time.
Final Points Table:
Chowgule Cricket Club, 21 points (quotient 1.265)
Dempo Cricket Club, 15 points (quotient 1.115)
Geno Sports Club, 15 points (quotient 1.034)
Margao Cricket Club, 11 points (quotient 0.769)
Salgaocar Cricket Club, 10 points (quotient 1.223)
Panjim Gymkhana, 4 points (quotient 0.682)
Scoreboard
Panjim Gymkhana, 1st innings – all out 143
Dempo Cricket Club, 1st innings – all out 266
Panjim Gymkhana, 2nd innings – from 184/5 in 53 overs to all out 270 in 85 overs (Soham Panvalkar not out 53, Vijesh Prabhudesai 35, extras 16, Abhinav Tej Rana 94-5, Mohit Yadav 67-2, Samit Mishra 44-1, Rahul Mehta 35-1)
Dempo Cricket Club, 2nd innings – 149/5 in 36.5 overs (Abhinav Tej Rana 35, Aaditya Kota 30, Sarthak Bhike 30, Snehal Kavthankar 23, extras 11, Shadab Khan 23-4), Player of the Match: Abhinav Tej Rana
Salgaocar Cricket Club, 1st innings – 351/8 declared
Geno Sports Club, 1st innings – from 349/9 in 86 overs to 386/9 declared (Shiven Borkar not out 36, Samarth Rane not out 14, extras 11, penalty 36, Yash Kasvankar 90-4, Amulya Pandrekar 88-2, Ruthvik Naik 102-2, Azaan Thota 18-1)
Salgaocar Cricket Club, 2nd innings – 243/8 in 78 overs (Amulya Pandrekar not out 50, Shaantanu Nevagi 47, Yash Kasvankar 39, extras 12, Nihal Surlakar 84-6), Player of the Match: Nihal Surlakar.
