PANAJI
Priority Titans defeated Manas Mavericks at the Panjim Gymkhana grounds on Sunday to reach the finals of the PGML 2.0, while Dempo Challengers defeated Prescon Panthers in the Eliminator round to keep their hopes of reaching the finals alive.
Priority Titans and Manas Mavericks, the two top-ranked teams in the six-team league, faced each other in Qualifier-1, with the former opting to field after winning the toss. Manas Mavericks’ top-order batters failed to make a good impression at the crease and it needed the team’s middle-order to put some life into the innings with Dhilan Shah emerging as the top-scorer with 28 runs off 26 balls, before running himself out. Manas Mavericks managed to score just 136 runs for eight in the stipulated 20 overs, with the Titans’ Harsh Jetaji taking two wickets for 13 runs.
When the Titans came out to bat, a solid performance by its top-order, which included a solid 35 runs off 29 balls by Muktiar Kadri and a quick 34 off 20 balls by Vedant Naik ensured they reached the winning score with an over and one ball to spare at the cost of just three wickets. Kadri was adjudged the Man of the match.
With the victory, the Priority Titans have sealed their position in the finals of the PGML 2.0 which is scheduled to be held on February 5. The Manas Mavericks have one more opportunity to reach the finals and are scheduled to play Dempo Challengers next in the Eliminator round. The Challengers had defeated Prescon Panthers by four wickets on Sunday.
The Panthers, who batted first, scored 161 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, with opening batters Saif Karajgi (40 runs in 30 balls) and Mehul Jirage (36 off 31 balls) the major scorers. For the Challengers, Sazu Naik took two wickets for 15 runs in two overs.
Dempo Challengers captain Aditya Angle led the response with the bat, scoring 38 runs in 33 balls, while Devidas Kholkar scored 37 runs in 22 balls as they reached the winning total in just 17.5 overs. Angle was adjudged the Man of the match for anchoring the Challengers’ innings.
