Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup: Harnoor’s knock goes in vain, Blasters lose to Phantoms
Batting first, Royal Phantoms played aggressively posting a total of 209/5 in 20 overs with middle-order batter Vaibhav Kalra scoring a remarkable 34-ball 72 to lift the Phantoms at a strike rate of 211. Openers Jaskaranvir Paul (47 off 30) and captain Anmolpreet Singh (47 off 38) gave a flying start to Phantoms.
Opener Harnnor Pannu’s brilliant 47-ball knock of 87 runs went in vain as BLV Blasters lost to Royal Phantoms in a match during the ongoing second “Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup” being organised by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Tuesday.
The Phantoms registered a narrow eight-run win over Blasters to take the points home.
Batting first, Royal Phantoms played aggressively posting a total of 209/5 in 20 overs with middle-order batter Vaibhav Kalra scoring a remarkable 34-ball 72 to lift the Phantoms at a strike rate of 211. Openers Jaskaranvir Paul (47 off 30) and captain Anmolpreet Singh (47 off 38) gave a flying start to Phantoms. Aryan Mehra bagged the wicket of Anmolpreet, who seemed dangerous with the bat, while left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar removed Jaskaranvir who played his innings with a strike rate of 156. Later, Ridham Satyawan and Vaibhav got things going for the Phantoms. Just when Ridham was looking to break free, Aryan got his wicket. He made 15-ball 29 while Vaibhav on the other end, kept plundering runs, hammering seven fours and five sixes. His knock took Phantoms across the 200-run mark. It was Harpreet who later bagged Vaibhav’s wicket. For Blasters, Aryan took three wickets, giving away 36 runs in four overs.
In reply, opener Harnoor, who has moved from UT Cricket Association to PCA this season, went on a rampage. Even though he lost his partner Manvir Heer early, he was assisted by captain Naman Dhir from the other end. They went after the Phantoms’ bowlers and amassed 67 runs for the second wicket. Kartik Chadha stuck and removed Naman to put brakes on the run-flow. Blasters received a blow when they lost the in-form batter Anmol Malhotra (4) and Tanveer Singh (8) within no time. Gurmehar Sra (29 off 21) and Harnoor bolstered Blasters chances but Sukhbir Bajwa struck in the 19th over to send Harnoor packing. The spotlight came on Harpreet after left-handed batter Harnoor departed. His cameo of 20 off 11 balls gave Blasters another chance but in the end Phantoms prevailed over and won the match. For the winning team, Anmolpreet and Sohraab Dhaliwal bagged two wickets each.
Prabhsimran’s ton sets up Stallions’ win
Led by a scintillating 62-ball unbeaten knock of 122 runs, Trident Stallions recorded a thumping three-wicket win over Agri King’s Knights in the second match of the day. With this win, Stallions avenged their only defeat in the tournament when Knights beat them in their first game. This was the fifth straight win for Stallions in the tournament.
Captain Prabhsimran’s knock had 11 sixes and seven fours. Batting first, Knights amassed 184/7 in 20 overs with captain Abhishek Sharma played a stunning 47-ball innings of 85 runs to prop his team. In reply, Stallions made 188/7 in 19 overs. Prabhsimran emerged as the hero for the Stallions in the end.
