Ludhiana, March 2
A fine all-round performance by Pankaj (31 n.o. and 3 wickets for 22 runs) and equally good batting display by Amritpal Singh (31)and Maninder Singh (22) helped The Tribune XI to register a four-wicket victory over Pepsi XI in a match held at the Arya College for Boys ground here today.
The Pespsi XI skipper, D. P.Singh, won the toss and elected to bat first. They got of to a flying start as the openers, Mohit and Tarun, gathered a quick 44 runs. Mohit (26) was caught at long off of the bowling of Arvind Bhardwajwhile going for a big hit . Tarun (31) followed him immediately, bowled by Sunny.
The pair of Tej Mehta and Vishal added 37 runs for the third wicket. Tej contributed 27 runs while Vishal chipped in with 18 runs. The Pepsi XI's innings was cruising well ( 93 for 4 after 11 overs) when off spinner Pankaj handed out two quick blows, scalping Tej and Vishal's wickets in one over.
The later order tried to steady the innings, stealing ones and twos. Manpreet and Ravinder scored 14 and 10 runs, respectively, and brought some respectability to the Pepsi XI's total. Their innings ended at 153 runs on the second-last delivery of their quota of 20 overs.
The Tribune XI began their chase on a strong foot with the two openers J.J.Singh (23) and Amritpal Singh (31) hoisting 50 runs in five overs. After the departure of J.J.Singh and Amritpal Singh, Maninder Singh and Arvind Bhardwaj occupied the crease.
The duo took the total to 97 before Pankaj (31 n.o.) took the reins and helped the Tribune XI achieve the target after losing six wickets in 17.4 overs.
Mr Gurdial Singh, SP, Traffic, was the chief guest. Pankaj was named the Man of the Match.
