PANJIM: Prescon Panthers emerged the champions of the inaugural Panjim Gymkhana Members League (PGML) after a hard-fought five-wicket victory over Dempo Challengers at PG ground, here on Sunday.
Chasing a modest total of 116, Prescon Panthers had to work hard and reached 117/5 in 19.3 overs in a tense finish. All-rounder Buddhadev Mangaldas was named man of the final for a crucial role with the bat in a low-scoring encounter. Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis was the chief guest and gave away the prizes in the presence of other dignitaries.
Prescon looked in control throughout, but failed to get the forceful shots at will and as such, progressed slowly thus keeping Dempo Challengers in the game.
Swayam Naik was the top scorer with 31 runs in 26 balls. Opener duo of Prajyot Rivonker and Prashant Pangam scored 15 runs each. However, Prashant was too far behind with his strike rate, and Prescon required some aggressive tactics before it got to a high-pressure situation.
It required Buddhadev to come out with big hits and he delivered in his 15-ball stay at the crease, hitting two sixers in his cameo of 24 runs, to get the required runs to a run-a-ball situation. Iftikar Agha contributed 12 runs and Prescon scored a deserving triumph, having played a consistent brand of cricket across the PGML.
Earlier on winning the toss, Dempo Challengers failed to put up a decent batting performance and were bowled out for a below-par 116 in 19.4 overs.
Dempo’s marquee player Aryan Mashelkar was the top scorer with 25 runs off 28 balls. He applied himself and played steadily as wickets fell around him. His innings contained two welcome boundaries as runs were hard to come by in the wake of disciplined bowling performance by the Panthers. Kiran Shirwaikar (12) hit the only sixer of their inning, but he failed to bat responsibly as he had done in the Qualifier 2 with a man of the match performance.
