PANAJI: RC Goa made it to their first final in the 4th edition of Panjim Gymkhana Members League (PGML) T20 tournament with a comprehensive 35-run victory over Priority Titans in the first Qualifier at Panjim Gymkhana ground here on Sunday. Later on the day, Prescon Panthers scored a nervy 3-wicket win against Dempo Challengers in the Eliminator.
RC Goa registered another fine team performance in the ongoing PGML 4.0 and outplayed Priority Titans in all three departments of the game today.
Put into bat, RC Goa batters looked at ease at the crease with most of them getting into double digits and Samar Dubhashi (36) was the top scorer. Although their total of 151/7 looked a bit short of what they would have liked after being 81/2 in the 10th over, their bowlers produced another masterly effort to dismiss Priority Titans for 116 in 18.5 overs. Veteran spinner Kushnab Ghai (3/22) was named ‘Grant Thornton’ Man-of-the Match. Sandeep Naik was the chief guest and presented the prize in the presence of Gaurish Dhond and Manish Karapurkar.
Later in the day, the Eliminator witnessed a tense finish with Prescon Panthers getting the better of Dempo Challengers by 3 wickets in a see-saw battle. The result meant that Prescon will go into the second Qualifier and play against Priority Titans on Saturday, while Dempo Challengers will be missing from the title match scenario for the first time in four years.
Opting to bat first, Dempo Challengers were bowled out for below-par 109 runs in 19.1 overs. The second-wicket partnership of 41 runs between captain Tunish Sawkar (25) and Niraj Lotlekar (19) was the only decent stand for the Challengers, who struggled against quality spin bowling of Manish Kakode (3/14) and Aditya Angle (2/28).
In reply, Prescon Panthers looked set to canter home as captain Prajyot Rivonker (25) and Siddhesh Amonkar (19) tackled the rival bowlers with confidence taking the total to 50/1 in 8th over, with a partnership of 39 runs for the second wicket.
Dempo’s spin duo of Dinesh Amrute (4/14) and Om Fadte (3/22) then wreaked havoc in the Prescon ranks with the Panthers reeling at 66/7 in 12.1 overs. Thereafter, Vivek Karapurkar (19 not out) and Sazu Naik (21 not out) survived some anxious moments before steering their side to a dramatic win under pressure with an unfinished 8th-wicket partnership of 44 runs.
Manish Kakode was named Grant Thornton Man-of-the Match. Jairam Kholkar was the chief guest and handed over the award in the presence of Narahar Thakur.
Brief Scores:
RC Goa 151/7 (Samar Dubhashi 36, Swayam Naik 20, Dhilan Shah 20; Mukhtar Kadri 3/33); Priority Titans 116 in 18.5 overs (Mukhtar Kadri 22, Sanjay Netravalkar 20, Samir Chodankar 18; Kushnab Ghai 3/22), RC Goa win by 35 runs.
Dempo Challengers 109 in 19.1 overs (Tunish Sawkar 25, Ketan Nandrekar 22, Niraj Lotlekar 19; Manish Kakode 3/14); Prescon Panthers 110/7 in 17.1 overs (Prajyot Rivonker 25, Sazu Naik 21 not out, Vivek Karapurkar 19 not out; Dinesh Amrute 4/14), Prescon Panthers win by 3 wickets.
