PANAJI
Thrilling finishes marked Tuesday's action in the Advocates Cricket League (ACL) 2025–26, as United Brothers extended their unbeaten run with a ball to spare over Lotlikar Lions, while 18 Juners sealed their third consecutive win by edging past Risers by just one run. Both matches were played at the Chicalim ground in Vasco.
In the first encounter, Lotlikar Lions posted a competitive 172 for 6 in their allotted 20 overs, with Venkatesh Rathod leading the charge with a fluent 42. Aditya Naik (32) and an unbeaten 31 from Pankaj Naik provided useful support. Ashish Dessai was the pick of the United Brothers bowlers, returning figures of 2 for 35.
United Brothers responded with a composed chase, anchored by Dattaraj Gawas's 45. The match tilted decisively in their favour through an unbeaten 61-run partnership between Dattaraj Parab (36 not out) and Raghu Parab (29 not out), as United Brothers reached the target at 176 for 4 in 19.5 overs to record a tense one-ball win.
The second match of the day produced an equally gripping contest. Batting first, 18 Juners were restricted to 132 for 9 in 20 overs, with Kunal Nadkarni top-scoring with 41. Dattaraj Arondekar and Abhishek Dhawaskar picked up two wickets apiece for Risers.
Despite the modest total, 18 Juners defended resolutely. Risers appeared well placed at 93 for 3 but suffered a dramatic collapse, slipping to 118 for 7 before being bowled out for 131. The disciplined bowling under pressure ensured a narrow one-run victory for 18 Juners, helping them maintain their perfect record with a third successive win in the tournament.
BRIEF SCORES
Lotlikar Lions: 172/6 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Rathod 42, Aditya Naik 32, Pankaj Naik 31*, Extras 19; Ashish Dessai 2/35, Dattaraj Parab 1/16, Sanket Salgaonkar 1/28, Raghu Parab 1/28, Mylen D'Souza 1/32) Lost to United Brothers: 176/4 in 19.5 overs (Dattaraj Gawas 45, Dattaraj Parab 36*, Raghu Parab 29*, Devanand Korgaonkar 20, Extras 20; Sunil Bugde 1/21, Aditya Naik 1/34, Gajanan Korgaonkar 1/27, Ramkrishna Shetye 1/17)
18 Juniors: 132/9 in 20 overs (Kunal Nadkarni 41, Pradosh Dangui 16, Abhay Rivonkar 14, Extras 8; Dattaraj Arondekar 2/27, Abhishek Dhawaskar 2/26, Sandeep Naik 1/27, Harsh Parekh 1/20, Pritesh Shetty 1/17) Defeated Risers: 131 all out in 20 overs (Anoop Kudtarkar 24, Abhishek Dhawaskar 23, Shubham Gadekar 20, Abhinav Marathe 19, Extras 10; Akshay Vengurlekar 2/11, Viraj Tar 2/24, Krishnakant Hegde Desai 2/22, Kashinath Posnaik 1/35, Rohan Shirodkar 1/22, Rohan Parulekar 1/17)
