PORVORIM: SK Jogging will clash with Mandovi Parivar-Canacona while Khorlim XI will take on Porvorim Warriors, in the first and second quarter-finals respectively at the 1st Manohar Parrikar Trophy T20 cricket tournament organised by Yuva de Goa in association with Pilerne Cricket Club at GCA academy ground, here on Wednesday.
After the rest day on Gudi Padwa festival on Tuesday, the action is expected to be intense with the semi-finals places up for grabs in the iconic tournament.
Led by ex-First Class cricketer Dhiraj Narvekar, SK Jogging have a lot of experience in their ranks with one of Goa’s proven performer and Ranji Trophy all-rounder Harshad Gadekar, Goa wicketkeeper-batsman Samar Dubhashi and talented medium-pacer Anush Kerkar, who returned impressive figures of 3 wickets for just 8 runs to be named man-of-the match in their victory over Betim United in their previous outing, makes for a dash of youthful exuberance.
However, SK Jogging will be up against one of the strongest teams in the competition with Mandovi Parivar studded with big names from Goan cricket spearheaded by formidable batsman Snehal Kauthankar, who has five centuries and ten half-centuries under his belt in 37 Ranji Trophy matches. The 25-year-old led Mandovi Parivar to a 10-wicket victory in their last match against Union Sports Club where former Ranji Trophy left-arm spinner Sherbahadur Yadav came up with a man-of-the match performance grabbing 6 wickets for just 12 runs.
Moreover, in-form Goa all-rounder Deepraj Gaonkar is a terrific talent not only in the batting and bowling departments but also in the field with his outstanding athleticism being a standout factor that gives him an edge and also stands him a great chance of an IPL opportunity sooner rather than later. Another Ranji Trophy regular and left-arm spinner Amulya Pandrekar lends Mandovi Parivar a great amount of depth as he is also very talented with the bat, putting a price on his wicket, not to mention the likes of former Ranji Trophy all-rounder Robin D’Souza, who is a hard-hitting batsman with big reputation in T20s in Goa, and raw talent of left-arm quickie Abhishek Singh among others.
In the afternoon session, two of the highest-scoring teams of the competition Khorlim XI led by former Goa Ranji Trophy all-rounder Saheel Dhuri; and Porvorim Warriors skippered by Goa’s highest run-getter in Ranji Trophy, Swapnil Asnodkar, will square up in what is expected to be a treat of quality cricket.
Both these teams had scored one-sided victories in their respective previous outing after posting scores of 200 by Porvorim Warriors vs Dukes Cricketers and 201 by Khorlim XI vs Super Sixers.
Swapnil, who retired from cricket and switched to coaching over the last two years, showed that he still has the hunger for runs once he is out in the middle with a bat in his hands as the 37-year-old registered the first century of the tournament in his last game and will be a prized wicket for Khorlim XI to bag early in the contest.
Goa wicket-keeper Rajshekhar Harikant and all-rounder Reagan Pinto, both of whom have featured in the Ranji Trophy team in the past, provide explosive capability to the Warriors. Upcoming Goa Ranji Trophy probable Ruthvik Naik has the pace while the state youth team-member Manish Kakode is skillful with his leg breaks.
While Porvorim Warriors look like a decent side, they were not really tested in their opener where most of the runs came from Swapnil’s bat. On the other hand, Khorlim XI got off to a comparatively better start with their top batsmen being amongst the runs in their previous match. Goa opener Aditya Kaushik, experienced all-rounder Amit Yadav, Maliksab Shirur and talented young opener Ishan Gadekar, all played good-looking shots.
Khorlim XI bowling has good variety with Saheel mixing his pace well while Amit is an expert off spinner with tricks up his sleeve among others. As such on paper, Khorlim XI seem a stronger side compared to Porvorim Warriors. However, the performance on the day will define the fate of this game as there are players with huge potential and experience on both sides.
SQUADS:
SK JOGGING: Vaibhav Naik, Rajat Kudalkar, Dhiraj Narvekar (captain), Harshad Gadekar, Samar Dubhashi, Shubham Jha, Shailesh Misquin, Anush Kerkar, Sagar Vantamuri, Basuraj Madar, Rakesh Korgaonkar, Mahesh Korgaonkar.
MANDOVI PARIVAR CANACONA: Snehal Kauthankar, Deepraj Gaonkar, Amulya Pandrekar, Robin D’Souza, , Aniket Desai, Avishkar Mone, Kashyap Bakhale, Dhiraj Yadav, Karan Vasshodia, Abhishek Singh, Sherbahadur Yadav, Mahesh Bhaidkar, Tunish Sawkar, Craig Daurado, Somesh Prabhudesai, Sanket Morajkar.
KHORLIM XI: Ninad Pawaskar, Rahul Keni, Aditya Kaushik, Ishan Gadekar, Soham Panvelkar (wicket-keeper), Amit Yadav, Maliksab Shirur, Rahul Gosavi, Nitesh Chowdhary, Saheel Dhuri (captain), Rupesh Ajgaonkar, Dipanshu Sharma.
PORVORIM WARRIORS: Swapnil Asnodkar (captain), Sachin Sardessai, Rupesh Sarwankar, Reagan Pinto, Rajshekhar Harikant (wicket-keeper), Shivendra Bhujbal, Manish Kakode, Udit Yadav, Ruthvik Naik, Nikesh Panjikar, Fardeen Khan, Prathamesh Naik.
