Infosys XI triumph over Godrej CC

PANCHKULA: Infosys XI came up with a special performance to complete an upset win over Godrej CC in the first semifinal of the ninth Bharat Kesho Gupta Memorial Cricket Tournament organized by the Cricket Federation of Haryana, at the Cricket Stadium, Sector-3 on Sunday.
Infosys XI won the toss and decided to field first. Godrej CC batsmen seemed all set to make the most of the opportunity as the openers put together a partnership of 51 runs for the first wicket.Kulwinder Romy, who was promoted up the order contributed 40 runs to the total before falling to Gaurav in the ninth over.
Jai Kapila then played the role of an anchor and kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos. He scored 26 off 35 deliveries. Infosys bowlers were tight in their line and length and did not allow the batsmen much of a chance to free their arms. There were only 10 boundaries in the whole inning. Sahil Seth and Gourav scalped two wickets each. Godrej CC finished with 138 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 25 overs.
In reply, Infosys XI had a bad start as they lost opener Sahil Seth on the very first ball itself. Thereafter, Parmod Rawat put together two successive partnerships and helped the team out of a spot of bother. Parmod top scored with 58 runs contributed to the total. His inning was clinical in its decimation as he frustrated the bowlers out of their wits while holding onto his wickets dearly. Infosys required three runs off the last over and Godrej just one wicket to book a place in the finals.
Ankit Bohra and Rahul Purohit held on just enough to take the team past the line with 3 balls remaining. Kulwinder Romy played his part with the ball as well, as he picked up 3 wickets for 21 runs. Ravinder Malik and Vijaypal scalped 2 wickets each.
In the second semifinal played between Airtel XI and DCM Engg XI, the latter won by 40 runs to enter the final of the tournament.
Batting first, DCM Engg scored 165 run off their 25 overs. Jaspreet was the top scorer as he completed a well-deserved half century off just 37 deliveries. His inning included 6 boundaries and a six. Shivam Rao too chipped in with 36 runs to the total. Anuj was the leading wicket taker with 3 wickets to his credit.
In reply, Airtel XI found the going difficult as the bowlers kept the bad balls to a minimum and the fielders did not balls slip by them, thereby not giving the batsmen any chance to score. Amandeep bowled a fine spell and picked up 4 wickets, largely responsible for bundling out the opponents in the 23rd over. For Airtel XI, Vinay Bhardwaj was the top scorer with 30 runs.
The final match of the tournament shall be played between DCM Engg XI and Infosys XI at Sector-16 Stadium, Chandigarh on April 24.
Brief Scores: (Godrej CC): 138 for 7 in 25 overs (Kulwinder Romy 40, Jai Kapila 26, Sahil Seth 2/20, Gourav 2/30); (Infosys XI): 140 for 9 in 24.3 overs (Parmod Rawat 58, Anirudh Jethi 20, Kulwinder Romy 3/21, Vijaypal (2/14, Ravinder Malik 2/34); (match-II): (DCM Engg XI): 165 for 8 in 25 overs. (Jaspreet 51, Shivam Rao 36, Anuj 3/40, Alok 2/21); (Airtel XI): 125 all out in 22.5 overs (Vinay Bhardwaj 30, Sarang 25, Amandeep 4/19, Avinash 2/ 32).