Sports Journalists' Association of Nagpur

Patil, Dabhekar guide TOI to semifinals in SJAN

Inter-Press T20 Cricket

Nagpur: Leading from the front, Piyush Patil delivered an all-round performance to take The Times of India to the semifinals of the 26th Inter-Press T-20 Cricket Tournament organised by the Sports Journalist Association of Nagpur (SJAN).

In their last league match, played at Dhanwate National College's Vasant Nagar ground, The Times of India defeated Navbharat by 40 runs.

Batting first, TOI scored 119 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Sandeep Dabhekar top-scored with 47 runs, while Piyush Patil contributed 22 and Rupesh Bhaik added 18 runs. For Navbharat, Junaid Sheikh took 3 wickets and Abhishek Singh claimed 2 wickets.

Later, TOI defended the modest total, with Patil making the Navbharat batters dance to his tunes. Patil scalped 4 wickets, giving away just 14 runs. Atul Pande continued to be consistent as the seasoned campaigner claimed 3 wickets in his quota of 4 overs.

Chasing the total, Navbharat's innings folded at 79 runs in 17.4 overs. Barring Manish Shrivas' 17 runs, Sameer Mohanty (15), and Rakesh Phender (12), none of their batters reached double figures.

Chief guests Bankers Sports Council vice president Sharad Padhye and secretary Ravi Joshi presented the Player of the Match award to Piyush for his all-round performance.

On Saturday, Sakal will play Punyanagari at 8.30 am.