CRICKET – Abraj Lions and Abraj Dhurandhar both emerged victorious as the seventh season of the Abraj Al Lulu Premier League got underway.
Lions defeated Abraj Indians in their match, with captain Sanito Dsilva putting on an outstanding performance with two wickets for 11 runs in three overs.
Ajay P also struck twice, while Ashish Lopes, Rohit, Stany Fernandes, and Jignesh Dhanesha took one wicket each.
Fernandes made a big impact in the field as well, with two catches and a run-out to go with his wicket.
Chasing 117, Lions raced to 40/2 in the powerplay, led by Ashish Lopes, who smashed an unbeaten 24 off just 12 balls with five fours. Dhanesha (12 off eight), Dsilva (12 off 10), Vijay Kumar (10* off 11) and Ajay P (nine off five) kept the scoreboard moving, and 17 extras made the task easier.
Lions reached 117 for five in 17.3 overs.
For Indians, Sagar bowled superbly, taking two wickets for 12 runs, while Anand (1/13), Ajay Jain (1/10) and Vinay Gupta (1/30) took one wicket each.
Overall, Lions won three of the four phases of play, with sharp bowling, strong fielding, and their fast start with the bat proving decisive.
Dsilva’s all-round brilliance, with 12 runs and figures of 3-1-11-2, earned him the Player of the Match (POM) award.
For Dhurandhar, they won against Abraj Violets in their contest.
Chasing 100, Dhurandhar started aggressively, with captain Mishal Soni hitting 15 off nine.
Violets struck back hard, reducing them to 37 for four inside five overs and 52 for six by the ninth over, which set up a tense contest.
Ankit Bhutda then played a match-winning innings, staying unbeaten on 29 off 21 with three fours and a six.
He took Dhurandhar from trouble to victory, with 39 runs coming between overs 12 and 16.
Surender Singh Thakran (eight) and Lauv Lahoti (eight*) gave him valuable support.
Ali Asgar fell with just one run needed, but Dhurandhar reached 100 for eight in 16.2 overs.
For Violets, Prem Devassy fought hard with three wickets for 26 runs. Paddy Dabhekar (1/10), Hozefa Petiwala (1/7), Sushant Khar (1/23) and Amit Maity (1/7) each took one wicket.
Wicketkeeper Ashwani Bhatia was outstanding behind the stumps, taking five catches and completing a run-out.
Bhutda reached a personal milestone of 1,500 career runs during the match.
His all-round brilliance, with 29* off 21 and figures of 3-0-14-2, earned him the POM award.
Prem Devassy was named Fighter of the Match for his 11 off eight and three wickets.
&uuid=(email))