An electrifying unbeaten half-century by captain Deepraj Gaonkar led Salgaocar Cricket Club to a crucial 45-run victory over Dempo Cricket Club in the ongoing Bandodkar Premier League T20 tournament organised by Panjim Gymkhana.
Deepraj, who was named man of the match, seized the initiative with a sensational knock of 23-ball 60 not out as he thumped the Dempo bowlers with Salgaocar CC racing from 98/4 in 13.1 overs to 189/5 in 20 overs. The talented Goa all-rounder dealt in sixers, plundering seven maximums, while hitting only two boundaries.
Dempo CC failed to build momentum, which is so vital in a big chase, as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Opening duo of Karan Vasshodia (22) and captain Manthan Khutkar (14) put on 33 runs for the first wicket in 3.4 overs. That was also the highest partnership for Dempo’s as their key batters failed to turn their starts into substantial contributions. No 3 batter Abhinav Tej Rana instilled a bit of urgency with four hits to the fence in his 14-ball stay at the crease. However, once he was caught in the deep for 24 runs, the Dempo chase failed to build the steam and went downhill before being restricted to 144/8. Sagar Mishra remained not out on 34 runs (2×4) and along with Deep Kasvankar (11 not out off 6 balls), played some good looking shots at the fag end, to help bring down the margin of defeat and keep their net run rate in check as it might come into play when deciding the qualification into the semi-final.
Salgaocar’s Sujit Nayak, Amogh Desai and Srinivas Fadte took two wickets each.
Earlier put into bat, Salgaocar got off to a slow start losing two early wickets and their situation required a cautious approach for the process of rebuilding with experienced opener Amogh Desai (30 off 33 balls, 4×4) and Sahil Makwana (24) putting on 42 runs for the third wicket. Hard-hitting all-rounder Sujit Nayak (43 off 30 balls, 6×4, 1×6), coming in at No 5, launched the counter-attack in the 45-run stand for the fourth wicket with Amogh, whose departure brought skipper Deepraj in the centre. Salgaocar CC went on to dictate the terms from there on as Deepraj went all guns blazing, changing the complexion of the contest. Dempo’s Fardin Khan took two wickets while Saiesh Kamat and Rohan Bogati picked up a wicket each.
Salgaocar had suffered a comprehensive loss against Chowgule SC on the opening day. The win today, gives the Vasco-based club a strong chance to make it to the semi-final stage.