Panaji: Margao Cricket Club (MCC) and Desserts N’More Geno Sports Club scored emphatic victory in their respective semi-finals of Bandodkar T20 League at Panjim Gymkhana ground here on Tuesday. The final of the prestigious annual tournament organised by Panjim Gymkhana, will be staged on 18th April, Thursday at 9.30am.
MCC beat defending champions Salgaocar Cricket Club by 40 runs in the first semi-final before Desserts N’More Geno Sports Club inflicted a crushing 73-run defeat on to Manas Panjim Gymkhana in the second semis.
Pinninti Tapaswi’s all-round performance (55 & 2/29) was the guiding force in MCC’s charge. Piyush Yadav scored a quickfire 36 not out off 12 deliveries (4×2, 6×4) to help MCC post a big total of 182/7 after electing to bat first. Dishank Misquin (24) and Rahul Mehta (23) chipped in with the bat as well. Shivam Singh was the most successful bowler for Salgaocar, picking up 4/35.
In reply, Salgaocar were all out for 142 runs in 19 overs with Aryan Narvekar being the top-scorer with 50 runs to his name while none other batter rose to the occasion with substantial contribution. Aditya Suryawanshi scored 29 runs. MCC captain Felix Alemao took 4 wickets. All-rounder, P. Tapaswi was named man of the match. Tanmay Kholkar, Member of Panjim Gymkhana Managing Committee, presented the award.
In the second semi-final, Desserts N’More Geno Sports Club fought back well to post a challenging total of 161/9 despite losing wickets early, after being put into bat. Pukhraj Mann (35), Lakshay Garg (31 not out), Dev Lakra (29), captain Darshan Misal (22) and Mohit Redkar (17) all got vital runs to keep Geno in the contest. Lakshay seized the impetus in the final over with a stunning range of shots, which included three sixes as 23 runs came from the over bowled by Vijesh Prabhudesai. Mayank Rawat (3/19) was the most successful bowler for Manas PG. Samit Aryan Mishra, Shubham Desai, Amit Yadav and Vijesh took one wicket each.
Desserts N’More Geno were too good with the ball and skittled out their rivals for 88 runs in 16.5 overs. Shivendra Bhujbal (47) offered some resistance with the bat as the contest was killed pretty early with the wickets tumbling in a hurry. Shubham (14) was the only other batter to enter double digits. Darshan and Mohit took three wickets each, while Amulya Pandrekar claimed a couple with two caught and bowled chances. Mohit was named man of the match. Gaurish Dhond, Vice-President of Panjim Gymkhana, presented the award.
