PAGARIYA Strikers pacer Lalit Yadav’s fiery spell and Mohd Faiz’s powerful batting helped them to a winning start in the inaugural Vidarbha Pro T20 League at Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Jamtha Stadium on Thursday. In the opener, Pagariya Strikers defeated Nagpur Titans by three wickets despite Jagjot Singh Sasan’s fighting half century. Captain Yash Kadam’s decision to bowl first was vindicated as Pagariya Strikers restricted Nagpur Titans at 122-8 in 20 overs. Yadav bowled a superb spell with a maiden fifer of the tournament as he bowled with precision. Nagpur Titans batters found it difficult to negotiate with his variations which included wicket-taking slower deliveries. His impressive figures read 4-1-11-5. In return, Pagariya Strikers knocked off the required runs (123) with 17 balls to spare and three wickets in hand.

 

 

The chase began on a positive note for the winners with Dhruv Shorey hitting a couple of boundaries in the first over bowled by Aditya Thakare. However, in an attempt to hit another four, the batter holed up a catch to Shubham Dubey. Left-handed batter Mohd Faiz took the mettle in his hands and clobbered Titans bowlers to score a 30-ball 46. His entertaining knock had five fours and two sixes. Faiz was severe on Satyam Bhoyar hitting him for two sixes over long on and a boundary in the 8th over to take his side closer to the target. Captain Kadam scored run-a-ball 28 but was run out in a bizarre manner when the scores were tied. Impact player Vishesh Tiwari hit an awkward shot over wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar and the ball slowly rolled towards fine leg boundary. Kadam, who was on the non-striker’s end thought the ball crossed the fence and did not complete his run and started celebrating their win. But Piyush Sawarkar threw the ball to Wadkar who dismantled the bails. It took a few minutes for the third umpire to declare Kadam run out.

 

Earlier, Nagpur Titans had a horrid start to their innings as they managed to post only 23 runs for three wickets in the power play. Opener Aniruddha Chaudhary (9) started the VPTL with a boundary to set the ball rolling. But Pagariya Strikers tasted first blood in the third over when they got the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy winning-captain Akshay Wadkar (3) caught by Kaustubh Salve off Yadav. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals for Strikers until Jagjot Sasan (56 from 46 balls) and Satyam Bhoyar (17 from 19 balls) stemmed the rot with a fourth wicket stand of 46 runs. Bhoyar, who hit the first six of the match, could not continue for long as he was caught by Aditya Ahuja off spinner Ashit Singh in the 11th over. Sasan and Shubham Dubey then posted 54 for the fifth wicket as Strikers crossed the 100-run mark. Sasan crafted his innings responsibly as he hit three boundaries and two sixes. “I am happy to take five wickets in the opening game. This will help me in future matches as well,” said Yadav after the match.