Panaji
IOC’s innings got off to a good start with openers Shrikar Bharat (21) and Ravikant Shukla (30) raising a stand of 53 before the latter lost his wicket to Karn Sharma. The middle order proved productive for IOC as former India opener Wasim Jaffer (40), Paresh Patel (51) and Saurabh Pandey (40*) steered IOC beyond the 200-run mark. Skipper and wicket-keeper Aditya Tare did not impress and was stumped out for just 1. Pawan Negi’s 2-24 was the highlight of Reliance’s bowling effort as Kulwant Khejrolia, Baltej Singh,Deepak Punia and Karn Sharma all managed to chip in with a wicket apiece.
Reliance 1 looked well set to overcome the winning target as an opening partnership of 78 between Rishab Pant (44) and Shubham Gill (33) seemed to have set the ball rolling. However, loss of wickets at regular intervals deterred the middle order to stay in the chase as Reliance slipped to 115 for 5 from a comfortable position. However, a sixth-wicket stand of 45 between Yogesh Nagar (38*) and Pawan Negi (18) threatened IOC’s dream of winning the title. A late effort from Deepak Punia (15) pushed Reliance 1 within striking distance, but Nagar ran out of partners and remained unbeaten as IOC restricted their opponents to 190/9, to seal a deserving win. Rohan Raje, Avesh Khan and Paresh Patel produced identiacal bowling spells of 2 for 34 which paved the way for the triumph. Rajesh Pawar claimed 2 for 18 while Anant Tambvekar returned 1 for 42.
