CRICKET – THE Abraj Rocking Royals secured a place in the final of the Abraj Premier League (APL5) yesterday after defeating the Abraj Violets by four wickets in their week 14 match.
The tournament is sponsored by Mega Contracting, BFC, Desi Zaika, Weather Cool, and AAL Association.
The Rocking Royals won the toss and invited the Violets to bat first. They began aggressively, reaching 95/0 by the end of the 10th over. However, the Rocking Royals struck in the 13th over, breaking the opening partnership and slowing down the scoring rate. The Violets then managed only 45/3 in the next six overs.
Despite the middle-order struggles, a late surge from top scorer Ashwani Bhatia, who remained unbeaten on 50 off 18 balls, and Hozefa Petiwala, who contributed 29 off 15 balls, helped the Violets reach a competitive total of 186/6.
Other key contributions included Mishal Soni (23 off 16), Hari Krishna (15 off 10), Sapan Jain (11 off 10), Collin Dominic Dsilva 10 (10), Mukesh Kumar 11 (10), and Lauv Lahoti 10 (10).
For the Rocking Royals, Sagar Dholaria was the standout bowler, claiming two wickets, while Ashwani Pratap, Ratnesh Singh, and Pankaj Kumar each took one wicket.
Chasing 187 for victory, the Rocking Royals came out aggressively, taking advantage of some dropped catches and inconsistent bowling from the Violets. By the 10th over, they had reached 97/2. Some non-regular bowlers from the Violets were hammered for 71 runs in just four overs, which proved to be the turning point of the match.
The Rocking Royals’ batters made light work of the chase, with Pratap (26 off nine), Anoop Kumar (26 off 16), Dholaria (25 off 19), Pankaj Kumar (23 off 10), Anil Verma 17(12), Mahesh Tambare 16 (10), Kamlesh Patel 10 (five), and Himanshu Bhatt 10 (10) contributing to the target being crossed in just 17.1 overs.
The Violets’ Petiwala took two wickets, while Hari Krishna and Ashwani claimed one wicket each.
Dholaria was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his all-round performance.
Meanwhile, the Abraj SuperGiants defeated the Abraj Daredevils in an intense eliminator match.
The SuperGiants outplayed the Daredevils and eliminated them from the tournament. The match, played between the third and fourth-placed squads, was a dramatic contest with SuperGiants emerging victorious by 32 runs.
The Daredevils won the toss and chose to invite the SuperGiants to bat first. However, the SuperGiants struggled early on, finding themselves at 40/4 after seven overs. The Daredevils’ bowlers kept a tight grip on the game, taking wickets at regular intervals. The SuperGiants could only manage 122/8 in their 20 overs.
The SuperGiants’ top scorer was Sanito Dsilva, who remained unbeaten on 30 off 25 balls. Other contributions came from Vivek Mandowara (12 off 11), Tarun Parihar (12 off 12), Raghavendra Shenoy (11 off 10), and Vali Shaik (11 off 13).
The Daredevils’ bowlers Dinesh Kumar and Stany Fernandes were the stars, each taking two wickets, while Umesh Kulkarni and Hatim Azad claimed one wicket apiece.
Chasing a modest target of 123, the Daredevils never found their rhythm. The SuperGiants bowlers kept the pressure on, restricting the Daredevils to a mere 43/6 by the end of the 10th over. Ultimately, they bowled the Daredevils out for 90 runs in just 18.1 overs, securing a convincing 32-run win.
Harsh Soni (22 off 17) and Vinay Gupta (14 off 20) fought a lone battle, but the rest of the Daredevils’ lineup struggled.
The SuperGiants’ bowlers Sanito Dsilva, Deepak Bhakuni, and Vivek Mandowara took two wickets each, with Anuj Somani, Vali Shaik, Shrawan Soni, and Chetan Dongra adding one apiece.
Sanito Dsilva’s outstanding all-round performance earned him the MVP title of the match.
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