the goan I network
Panaji
In the first semi-final, IOC scored a narrow 2-run win over CAG at GCA Academy grounds, Porvorim on Tuesday.
It was CAG who won the toss and decided to bowl first. IOC’s innings closed at 184/7 with Paresh Patel top-scoring with a quick-fire 53 off 26 balls.Opener Arman Jaffar also made an impressive 47 off just 28 balls to raise an opening stand of 36 with Ravikant Shulka (16). For CAG, Imtiaz Ahmed returned figures of 2 for 32 in 4 overs while Shaurya Sanandia, Saurav Mandal, Gurinder Singh and Ankit Sharma claimed 1 wicket apiece. CAG, in reply, came close to winning but fell short of the victory target by just 2 runs as they managed to reach 182 for 8. Ankit Sharma, their skipper top-scored with 42 while Ankit Kaushik and Swapnil Salvi scored 34 and 32 respectively. IOC’s victory was scripted by Anant Tambvekar whose fiery spell of 4 for 37 did the job. In the second semis, defending champions Reliance 1 rode on Rishabh Pant’s whirlwind 70-ball 180 to crush Air India by 110 runs to march into the finals. Pant’s innings was laced with 17 boundaries and 15 huge sixes.
In company of the lanky Shubham Gill 35 (23b, 4x4, 1x6) , the pugnacious southpaw from Delhi, raised a 175-run opening stand in just 13.1 overs. A chancy knock by the 19-year-old Pant, the Sonnet Club protégée was given twin reprieves on 26 off successive balls off medium-pacer Badri Alam’s bowling in the sixth over. And from thereon, there was no looking back for the former U-19 World Cupper and Delhi captain, who looked good for a 200 until he was dismissed for 180 midway through the 18th over on a team score of 249 with Unmukt Chand relatively new at the crease at the other end. Chand (28) and captain Karn Sharma (22) were at the end to raise a quick-fire unbeaten 31-run partnership for the third wicket. In reply, Air India managed only 171/9 with Vibhav Mali playing a lone hand with an unbeaten 86, but in vain.
