Chawla storm into final of Sindhi cricket league

Chawla Sindhi Royals booked their place in the final of the Sindhi Premier Cricket League with a thumping seven-wicket win over favourites Nhormus Divine Sindhis at The Sevens ground on Tuesday.

After winning the toss and putting Nhormus into bat, Chawla had a small target of 117 to chase for victory in the second semi-final of the Sindhi Cricket Club organised tournament which is being held under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council.

Chawla got those runs in 21.4 overs for the loss of only three wickets.

The victors now take on Petrochem Sindhi Kings on Friday March 29 for the title.

It was a superb all-round performance from the Chawla team wherein their bowlers maintained a tidy line and length and also bagged wickets at regular intervals.

The fielders backed their bowlers well by showing good athleticism and it paid off with three run-outs, while the batsmen gave little away to ensure a good opportunity was not lost.

Both teams shared the honours before going into this match with Nhormus winning the first round match and Chawla coming back to win the second round.

In both matches the team batting first managed to win despite posting modest totals.

In the first round Nhormus defended 130 by restricting Chawla to 115 and in the second Chawla scored 127 and won the match by three runs.

Nhormus showed signs of nerves from the beginning with both the openers running themselves out.

Hemant Baharnani (22) did give the team a good start and Jay Joshi (26) played his usual flamboyant strokes to up the tempo.

Nhormus were probably banking on Ashish Bhandari, the sole centurion in the tournament, to come good by pushing him down the batting order.

But with him getting out cheaply, the onus fell on the rest and except for Hiren Katira (24 not out) none could contribute enough to take the team to a fighting total.

Vinay Mehra (3-19) and Rajesh Thadani (2-13) were impressive with the ball for Chawla.

Vinay opened the batting and chipped in with 17 but three wickets in quick succession put them on the back foot.

It was Navin Punjabi and Vinay Tolani who helped settle Chawla’s nerves as they stroked their way to victory with plenty to spare.

Punjabi slashed four boundaries during his unbeaten knock of 30 and Tolani hit a six and a four for his unbeaten 26.

Tolani was named man of the match for also bagging a wicket.

Brief scores:

Chawla Sindhi Royals beat Nhormus Divine Sindhis by 7 wickets

Nhormus 116 for 9 in 25 overs (Jay Joshi 26, Hiren Katira 24 no, Hemant Baharnani 22; Vinay Mehra 3-19, Rajesh Thadani 2-13, Vinay Tolani 1-19) lost to Chawla 119 for 3 in 21.4 overs (Navin Punjabi 30, Vinay Tolani 26 no, Vinay Mehra 17; Hemant Baharnani 2-31, Deepesh Kanchandani 1-18).

Man of the match: Vinay Tolani of Chawla.

 

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