Lokmat and The Hitavada will clash in the eliminator whereas on the basis of better run quotient The Times of India (TOI) entered the finals in 21st Inter-Press Cricket Tournament organised by Sports Journalists’ Association of Nagpur (SJAN) in association with OCW and SBI at Ambedkar College ground on Monday.
In the first match, Lokmat defeated Tarun Bharat by 84 runs. Batting first Lokmat made 173 for 8 in 20 overs. Pravin Lokhande slammed 59, Sharad Mishra (24), Nitin Pataria (17) were the other scorers. In reply, Tarun Bharat were bowled out for 89 in 13.4 overs.
In an exciting tie, Punyanagari went down fighting to defending champions The Hitavada by just one run. Batting first The Hitavada scored 136 for 9. Nikhil Dixit (36) and Anupam Timothy (27) were the main scorers. In reply, Punyanagari missed the target by just one run. The efforts of Shridhar Hatgade (37) and Shrikant Kotgule (33) went in vain.
Brief scores:
Lokmat: 173 for 8 in 20 overs (Pravin Lokhande 59, Sharad Mishra 24, Nitin Pataria 17, Amit Khodke 16, Mannu Bawa 2 for 20) beat
Tarun Bharat: 89 all out in 13.4 overs (Lakhan Jaiswal 18, Sunil Kawale 17, Nitin Patariya 3 for 11 Sharad Mishra 2 for 10, Pravin Lokhande 2 for 10)
Result: Lokmat won by 84 runs
Mom: Pravin Lokhande
The Hitavada: 136 for 9 in 20 overs (Nikil Dixit 36, Anupam Timothy 27, Kamlesh Waghire 18, Kaushik Bhattacharya 18 not out, Shrikant Bondre 3 for 26, Sunil Khorgade 3 for 26) bt Punyanagari: 135 for 9 in 20 overs (Shridhar Hatgade 37, Shrikant Kotgule 33, Vivek Wate 2 for 30, Kshitij Udar 2 for 12)
Result: The Hitavada won by one wicket
MoM: Nikhil Dixit