Pakyong Eleven reach ‘A’ Division final in debut campaign

SAMIR NUGO

GANGTOK, : After almost three weeks of action, the 2023 edition of the SICA ‘A’ Division cricket tournament is at its deciding point, where newbies PakyongEleven and inaugural champions Alpine Sporting Club will square off against each other to lift the trophy at the Sikkim Cricket Groundon Friday.

PraneshChettri scored a century as he steered Pakyong Eleven to a four-wicket victory over JBCC ‘A’ in the second semi-final on Wednesday.

The Pakyong side completed the chase of 236 having recovered from 49-3 thanks to Chettri (104 off 80 balls) and in-form YugdeepSaini (51).

The duo stitched a 117-run partnership for fourth wicket as Pakyong Eleven secured the victory and maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament.

Pranesh pumped Sonu Kumar Singh over square leg for a six to complete his century and first by any player this season. An over later, Satish Sharma (21 n.o.) and AvishekRegmi (4 n.o.) completed the chase for Pakyong.

Earlier, Tilak Thakur and Ankur Malik scored half centuries to guide JBCC ‘A’ to a total of 335-6 in 40 overs. Ankur hit an unbeaten 75 off 67 balls today to top the batting charts. The all-rounder has amassed 306 runsand remained unbeaten in all four innings he played in the tournament.

PraneshChettri was named player of the match for coming up with a brilliant knock under pressure for Pakyong, who can now wrap up a title win in their first attempt if they triumph at the SCG on Friday.

For Pakyong, winning the tournament will be the perfect ending to their maiden season, where they exceeded pre-tournament expectation, becoming the table-toppers in Group-B.

It’s been quite a ride for the debutants. No matter the result on Friday, the Pakyong outfit has made quite an impression in their first ever season.

For Alpine, making an appearance in fourth straight final and winning their only title in 2020, it will be a golden opportunity to equal Balck Eagles fro ‘A’ Division titles. Black Eagles were their opponents in all three previous finals.

Overall, Pakyong Eleven and Alpine Sporting Club are both strong contenders for title with the two teams having their own strengths and weaknesses. But Friday’s title clash will be the one to decide which the better team is.