Skipper Saurabh Tiwary hit an unbeaten 112 to help Reliance1 beat Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited by 25 runs to successfully defend the title in the 14th DY Patil T20 Cup in Nerul on Thursday.
Asked to bat first, Reliance1 lost both the openers – Rishabh Pant and Rohan Marwaha – with just two runs on board. But Tiwary ensured that there was no collapse as he first built a 77 run partnership for the third wicket with Akshdeep Nath (23) and added 49-runs for the fourth wicket with Nikhil Naik (19) to take the team total to 185 for 6 in their alloted 20 overs.
His 112 run knock in just 63 balls was laced with five boundaries and eight sixes. For BPCL ,Rishi Arothe ( 2-34 ) was the pick of the bowlers.
In their response, the BPCL chase never really got going. Despite handy knocks by senior pro Abhishek Nayar (43) and Shreyas Iyer (35), the chase failed against some quality bowling.
India U19 World Cup star Anukul Roy, with a spell of 3-29, and his U19 teammate Kamlesh Nagarkoti (4-28) chipped in with seven wickets among themselves to restrict BPCL to 160-9 despite Shivam Dubey’s late charge with an unbeaten 40 in 31 balls.
Earlier in the semi-finals, BPCL prevailed over CAG in a high-scoring contest while Reliance1 defeated DY Patil Sports ‘B’.
BRIEF SCORES
Final At DY Patil Stadium: Reliance1 185-6 in 20 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 112 n.o., Akshdeep Nath 23; Rishi Arothe 2-34) btBPCL 160-9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Nayar 43, Shivam Dubey 40 n.o., Shreyas Iyer 35; Kamlesh Nagarkoti 4-28, Anukul Roy 3-29)-by 25 runs
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