The Avengers and Newfoundland Super Kings will meet in the Winter League final in two weeks time after Sunday’s matches.
The Avengers beat beat the Superstars by 69 runs in the first semi-final. Saravana Kumar raised the Superstars hopes by bowling Rahul Vashisht for 2 in the second over, but then Gurman Khurana and Ihtehsham Khan (29) put together a 97 run second wicket partnership, taking the Avengers to 103/2 from their 8 overs. Gurman made 68 not out from 28 balls with seven sixes. The Superstars just could not get going against some accurate Avengers bowling, and were bowled out for 34 in the 7th over. Dhrumitt Bhat took 1/8 from two overs and Daxraj took three wickets. Sreerag took two excellent catches, and Gurman took a catch and had a run out to seal his man of the match performance.
Scorecard (note that Ramesh Kumar and Poorna Kumar are reversed in the Superstars batting- Ramesh made 7 and Poorna 0)
In the second match, NSK batted first and scored 72/3, Talha Riaz scoring 35, and well supported by Rahul Roy with 18 not out. The Lions bats struggled against NSK opening bowlers Neelav Deewan, who conceded just 7 runs from 3 overs, and Ami Sundly who took 1/9 from two overs. A couple of run outs put them in a deep hole, and they never recovered, making 36/3 from their 8 overs, a 36 run win for NSK.
Scorecard
NSK will thus play Avengers in the championship match, with the Lions and Superstars playing for bronze.
Sunday’s third match was in the Plate competition, and the Royal Challengers narrowly beat Avalon CC in an exciting match. Avalon CC made 48/4 when they batted with Mamoon top-scorer with 20. The Challenger’s 5th wicket went down with 17 still required but man of the match Manvir Mann (21*0, supported by Shubam Sharma took them home with an over to spare.
Scorecard
The league will conclude February 26 with the final two plate matches, followed by the bronze medal and championship matches.