A century by Nehal Pajni guided Capital Strikers to a five-wicket victory over Tricity Bashers in the 4th Chandigarh Premier League at Tau Devi Lal Stadium Sector 3 in Panchkula on Tuesday.
Chasing 191, the Strikers rode on an explosive innings by Pajni, who smashed 107 off 56 balls, studded with 12 boundaries and six sixes. His match-winning innings helped the Strikers reach 191/5, registering their first win of the season. The defeat marked Bashers’ second consecutive loss in the tournament, putting them under early pressure in the league standings.
Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat, Bashers’ batters recovered from a shaky start from 24/3 to post a competitive 190/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Sanyam Saini and Ankit Kaushik helped the side revive the innings. Saini scored 62 off 37 balls, while Ankit remained unbeaten on 53 off 29 balls. Hardik Chowdhry chipped in with a useful 22 to propel the Bashers to a competitive total. Jaskirat Singh Mehra was the standout bowler by claiming two wickets.
Strikers’ also got off to a to a shaky start with an early departure of Arjun Azad. However, Pajni took control of the innings and stitched together crucial partnerships with Gurtaj SIngh (31) and Surya Narayan Yadav (37).
On Monday evening, Rock Garden Warriors had pulled off a six-wicket victory over Strikers. Skipper Azad posted an unbeaten 153 that powered Strikers to 258/3. However, Warriors responded with 260/4 in 18.5 overs as skipper Dipender Kush remained unbeaten on 79 and Raman Bishnoi on 55.
