PANJIM: Desserts N’More Avengers and Baale Tigers scripted clinical victories in their respective matches of the 3rd Panjim Gymkhana Members League at Panjim Gymkhana ground, Campal, here, on Saturday.
Desserts N’More outplayed defending champions Dempo Challengers by 59 runs in the first match before Baale Tigers opened their account in the PGML3.0 with a strong display against Manas Mavericks, who went down by 12 runs.
Having lost their last outing, Desserts N’More Avengers registered their second victory in three matches as they bounced back in style. Put into bat, the Avengers posted a total of 171/6, riding on a confident batting performance spearheaded by stroke-maker Saif Ali Karajgi, who smashed 35 runs off 20 balls (5×4, 1×6). Skipper Sameer Chodankar played beautifully for his 35 off 25 balls. Rajaram Kundaikar came up with the acceleration in the end with 22 runs off 12 balls.
In reply, Dempo Challengers suffered a complete batting failure and couldn’t get a foothold to make the chase a competitive affair before being restricted to 112/9 and tasting first defeat. The only batters to offer some resistance were Sumiran Mehta (38 off 30 balls) and Sazu Naik (25 off 12 balls). For the Avengers, Balakrishna Hodarkar and Vinay Palekar took two wickets each, while Saif Ali Karajgi picked one wicket.
In the second match of the day, Baale Tigers produced their best effort of the season and scored the crucial victory to stay alive in the competition having lost all their previous three games. Electing to bat first, skipper Shushrut Nasnodkar (36) and Sachin Sardessai (17) in particular, gave a quickfire start to Baale Tigers. Shushrut, who scored 5 boundaries including a delightful scoop shot, dished out a superb mixture of caution and aggression and was involved in a couple of important partnerships.
