In the fourth weekend of the T20 Summer League, Punjab XI CC seemed to be heading to their third defeat in as many games against HSBC Malta CC before a sensational comeback helped them to their first win of the season.
Winning the toss and bowling first, Punjab XI failed to gain any momentum as HSBC worked their way to 179/4.
HSBC captain Michael Goonetilleke moved to the top of the batting leaderboard with a score of 80 off 62 deliveries, while Raaj Kumar picked up two wickets for the Punjab XI.
The chasing team found themselves at 62/6 after 10 overs, needing 117 runs with just 60 deliveries left to win.
Punjab XI’s captain Varinder Singh walked to the crease and put on an astonishing partnership with Ravinder Singh to help Punjab XI to the win with three balls to spare.
Ravinder Singh finished on a score of 81 off 53 deliveries, the highest individual score of the season. Despite the win, Punjab XI CC remain joint bottom on 16 points.
Marsa CC slipped down into second place after a catastrophic batting collapse against Super Kings CC on Saturday afternoon, leading to an easy win for the latter.
Marsa CC were bowled out for 71 runs inside 15 overs. Varun Prasath helped himself to three wickets, while Ashok Bishnoi took two.
Super Kings CC wrapped up the victory with 11 overs to spare for the loss of just two wickets. Gopal Chaturvedi remained not out on 29 runs.
Marsa’s result meant Kings Kerala climbed back into top spot with a convincing win over Mater Dei CC on Saturday morning.
Despite losing the toss and being asked to field first, Kings Kerala put on a thoroughly professional display to bowl out their opposition for only 97 runs.
Captain Sujesh Appu claimed four wickets in a superb bowling performance for the Kings. Despite making a slow start, Kings Kerala got over the line with over five overs to spare.
Bose Paul remained not out on 25 while Justin Baxter took two wickets for Mater Dei.
Kerala Tuskers CC made it three wins out of three to strengthen their play-off hopes with a victory against Paddy Power.Betfair CC on Sunday afternoon.
Bowling first, Tuskers restricted their opponents to 113 runs. Samuel Kanakalil Thomas posted bowling figures of 3 wickets for 16 runs while Tuskers demonstrated their fielding skills by effecting two run-outs.
Tuskers did find themselves in a sticky situation, having only scored 21 runs for the loss of four wickets. Niraj Khanna and Jay Sellick took two wickets for PPB.
However, a 97-run partnership from Rahul Nair and Samuel Kanakalil Thomas helped Tuskers to the victory.
Next weekend will commence with ‘The Battle of the Malayalis’ as Kings Kerala CC face-off against Kerala Tuskers CC.
Standings: Kings Kerala 55; Marsa 54; Kerala Tuskers 47; Super Kings 42; St John 32; HSBC Malta 32; Mater Dei 21; Paddy Power.Betfair 16; Punjab XI 16.