PANAJI: LPK11 overcame a stiff resistance from Baale Tigers and scored a hard-fought three-wicket victory in the Eliminator clash at the 1st Panjim Gymkhana Members League (PGML) at PG ground, here on Wednesday. LPK11 thus earned an entry into the Qualifier 2 where they will lock horns with Dempo Challengers on Saturday morning.
In a Republic Day tussle that provided edge-of-the seat thrill towards the end as LPK11 and Baale Tigers battled tooth and nail, LPK11 scored the winning run on the fourth delivery of the final over, reaching 154/7 in reply to Baale’s 152/6.
It should have been a comfortable progress in the run-chase for LPK11 once captain Anup Kudchadkar had given a flying start to their inning. The flamboyant opener had gone after the Tigers bowling attack from the word go as he scored three boundaries and belted four sixers for a 12-ball 36. Thus LPK reached their 50-run mark in three and half overs. However, some below-par batting display from some of the batsmen coupled with disciplined bowling by Baale Tigers, resulted in the match returning to an even keel by the halfway mark. Devidas Kolkar contributed 36 off 39 balls. He looked sluggish during the best part of his knock, only to bounce back to life towards the latter stages as pressure mounted on his side. His knock ended with two boundaries and a timely sixer. Sachin Sardessai too was well behind his usual strike rate, in his knock of 18 runs off 27 balls. Although the duo put on the highest partnership of their team’s innings, that of 58 runs for the second wicket; they ended up well behind the asking rate.
It required an attacking cameo by all-rounder Siddharth Ghanekar who unleashed an attack on Sairaj Dhond in particular, as the 18th over resulted in 19 runs, to bring the equation down to 13 off 12 balls for LPK11 in the end. Siddharth, who scored 22 runs off 10 balls with the help of one boundary and two sixers, was named man of the match.
Coach-cum-player Sudin Kamat was the best bowler on display for Baale Tigers as he snared two wickets in his three overs, giving away just 8 runs. Shushrut Nasnodkar and Sairaj took one wicket each.
Earlier put into bat, Baale Tigers got off to a good start with captain Kapil Angle making a strokeful 36 runs off 29 balls. The stylish right-hander picked out the gaps in the field at will as he struck six crisp boundaries.
After the unfortunate run out of fellow opener Sudin Kamat – which was also the first of the total of three runouts in Tigers’ inning, Kapil was involved in a 52-run partnership for the second wicket with Paresh Miskin. Paresh was also in a good touch as he sent the ball beyond the rope on five occasions in his knock of 15-ball 23.
Baale Tigers ensured a run-rate of around 7 throughout their inning, but LPK11 were able to keep their rivals in check especially between the 10th and 15th overs. Sairaj provided some acceleration in this period before getting out in the 18th over for 30. His 24-ball stay at the crease, saw the powerful batsman hit 3 boundaries and a magnificent sixer, despite Sairaj playing through the pain due to a hamstring injury. Rohit Mehta 16 (24 balls) and Sahish Mahambrey 15(8 balls) also made important contribution.
LPK11 spinner Vinay Palekar ( 3 –0-11-1) was excellent with his flighted deliveries. The veteran was also a livewire in the field as he made some crucial stops, saving a lot of runs. Siddharth (1/22) was the other wicket-taker.
Adv Yogesh Nadkarni was the chief guest and presented the man of the match award. Earlier at the toss, Dr Gunjan Baijal was the special invitee.
Brief scores: Baale Tigers 152/6 (Kapil Angle 36, Sairaj Dhond 30, Paresh Miskin 23; Vinay Palekar 1/11). LPK11 154/7 (Anup Kudchadkar 36, Devidas Kolkar 36, Siddharth Ghanekar 22; Sudin Kamat 2/8)
