PANAJI
Geno SC defeated MCC in a thrilling Super Over, while Salgaocar overcame Chowgule’s spirited resistance to book their place in the final of the Goa Premier Division One-Day League 2025–26 organized by the Goa Cricket Association.
The match between Margao Cricket Club and Geno Sports Club at the GCA Academy Ground in Porvorim turned out to be a nail-biter. Batting first, MCC posted a challenging 257 in 39.5 overs. Though the start was cautious, the middle order steadied the innings. Captain Rajshekhar Harikant (56) played a composed knock, while Deepraj Gaonkar smashed an aggressive 80 off 57 balls. Late contributions from Heramb Parab (13) and Anuj Yadav (17) helped the team cross the 250 mark. For Geno, Samarth Rane (4 wickets) and Mehank Dharwadkar (4 wickets) impressed with the ball.
In reply, Geno got off to a blazing start. Veer Yadav scored a quickfire 50 off just 22 balls, hitting 4 fours and 5 sixes. However, wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In such a situation, Kaushal Hattangadi (unbeaten 86) showed great composure to anchor the innings. Geno eventually matched the total in 38.2 overs, tying the match. For MCC, Anuj Yadav, Deepraj Gaonkar, and Heramb Parab picked up two wickets each.
In the Super Over, Geno dominated by scoring 34 runs. Vikas Singh hammered five sixes and a four in the over bowled by Heramb Parab. In response, despite Deepraj Gaonkar hitting three consecutive sixes, Margao could manage only 19 runs.
In the second semi-final, Salgaocar Cricket Club defeated Chowgule Sports Club by 26 runs to secure their place in the final.
The match at the GCA Ground in Sanguem-Kotarli saw Salgaocar recover after an early wobble. Piyush Yadav (64) and Shantanu Nevagi (57) stabilized the innings with sensible batting. Yogesh Kauthankar remained unbeaten on 47, accelerating towards the end, while Tunish Sawkar (37) played an attacking knock to take the team to 250. For Chowgule, Shubham Desai was the pick of the bowlers with 2 wickets.
Chowgule started well in the chase, with Gauresh Kambli (65) and Sanath Nevagi (30) playing aggressively. However, the middle order failed to capitalize. At crucial moments, Salgaocar’s bowlers struck effectively to turn the match in their favour. Gauresh Nagvekar claimed 4 wickets, while Amulya Pandrekar supported well with 2 wickets. Chowgule were eventually bowled out for 224.
The day-night final scheduled on May 1, with expectations of yet another thrilling contest.
