Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 5: Good contributions from Rahul Mussa, Puneet Wattal and Ishan helped Rainawari Cricket Club, Srinagar to defeat Friends Cricket Club Akhnoor by 6 wickets to advance in the ongoing 1st Drug Free Youth Gharota T20 Cricket Tournament, being organized by Country Cricket Academy at the Academy ground, here.
Batting first, FCC Akhnoor scored a modest total of 121 runs in the stipulated 20 overs. Jimmy, Chander, Parveen and Chandan contributed 26, 24, 14 and 13 runs to the total respectively. For RCC Srinagar, Puneet Wattal was the pick of the bowlers, who took 3 important wickets by conceding 18 runs in his 4 overs, while Rahul Mussa claimed 2 wickets.
In reply, riding on unbeaten 47 runs by Rahul Mussa and sensible 37 by Ishan, RCC Srinagar chased the target in 16.2 overs by losing 4 wickets thus won the match by 6 wickets. Mussa hit 5 fours and a six in his knock, while Puneet Wattal also chipped in with 16 runs. Rahul Mussa of RCC Srinagar was adjudged man of the match for his brilliant all-round performance.
In another match, Jaidev Cricket Club Kot defeated JKP XI in a close contest by 13 runs.
Jaidev Club scored a modest total of 128 runs in the allotted 20 overs, with Lakhan Singh (34) and Anshul (21) being the main scorers. Nittu was the wrecker-in-chief for JKP XI who took 5 wickets, while Ambrose and Rajesh Gill bagged 2 wickets each.
JKP XI, in reply could score 115 runs in the allotted overs by losing 7 wickets, thus lost the match by 13 runs. Skipper Rajesh Gill top scored with 45 runs off 41 balls, while Pankaj Ladda contributed 16 runs to the total. For Jaidev Cricket Club, Balram took 2 wickets, while Bagga and Narinder Singh claimed one wicket each. Despite Jaidev Club’s win, Nittu of JKP XI was adjudged man of the match for his 5-wicket haul.