By Richard Boxall
A sparkling 94 not out by Tharanga Pathirana was the highlight of the weekend’s cricket in the 2024 BAOFinancial Autumn T20 Cup presented by HurryCurry.
Batting throughout the innings, the Lankan SC captain scored his runs from 59 balls and shared an opening partnership of 99 with Ashan Chanaka (38) as his team compiled 184-5. Saurav Ahmed was Nicosia Fighters’ most economical bowler with 1-20.
Fighters made a spirited reply with openers Mazharul Islam (49) and Rahul Behl (31) putting on 63, followed by Shakhawat Hossein with 33. But wickets fell as the batters tried to maintain the required run rate, and Jeevenn Dilruk bowled a good spell of 3-43. The Fighters finished on 154-8 and Lankan SC completed the group stage with a 100% record.
Rhinos will rue their late arrival for their match with Al Fatah. After being deducted two overs as a penalty, they finished 14 runs short of victory with three wickets in hand, and what could have been a gripping finish was spoiled.
Bhuwan Khatri put Rhinos into a good position by taking 5-13 from 4 overs to bowl out Al Fatah for 114, and in reply, despite losing wickets regularly, Rhinos were still in with a chance until they ran out of overs.
Amdocs had a convincing 8-wicket win over Telugu 11, bowling them out for 94, with Hitesh Thadani taking 3-10 from 4 overs. Preetaj Deol’s unbeaten 43 saw Amdocs through to their target without alarm.
Markhor’s captain Malik Amir had a good match with 56 runs and two wickets to help his side defeat Napa Kings by 6 runs in a fractious match. Rasab Sher (34) joined him in a partnership of 84 but the Napa bowlers stuck to their task, with Kashif Pervaiz the pick with 2-9 from 4 overs.
Chasing 130-7, the Kings’ Qareeb Amarkhil hit 48, but with two wickets apiece for Junaid Ur Rahman, Wasim Abbas and Malik, and a fast, hostile spell from Muhammad Tanveer, Markhor were just able to defend their total.
As the group stage nears completion, still only four teams are guaranteed a quarter final place – Lankan SC, Moufflons, Sri Lanka Lions and MSN Punjab Lions – so there is still much at stake in the remaining games.
