PCA Punjab XI beat Rest of Punjab Red by 6 wickets in the first final of PCA Trident Cup

Mohali: In the first final match of the ongoing PCA Trident Cup Challenger Triangular Series played today at I S Bindra Cricket Stadium, Mohali PCA Punjab XI took on Rest of Punjab RED.

On a sunny morning PCA Punjab XI won the toss and invited PCA Rest of Punjab Red to bat first.

A cautious opening knock by Nehal Wadhera 51 runs in 61 balls (6 fours and 1 Six) supported well by his team captain Gitansh Khera unbeaten 78 runs in 80 balls with help of 4 fours and 3 sixes,  helped the team to reach a total of 267 runs for loss of 7 wickets in the allotted 50 over’s. Kuwar Pathak 29, Vishwa Pratap 25 and Mandeep Inder Bawa with 24 runs were the other prominent contributors in the team total. PCA Punjab XI bowlers Abhinav Sharma captured 3 wickets , Vinay Chaudhary 2 , Gaurav & Ramandeep took 1 wicket each.

Chasing the target PCA Punjab XI suffered an early setback when opener Prabhjot Singh was declared lbw of a delivery by Ikjot Singh in the 7th over when the team total was 36 runs. Abhijeet (39 runs in 53 balls) was second to return to the pavilion in the 19th Over. However batsmen Ramandeep Singh showed resistance scoring 43 runs off 39 balls with 3 fours and 1 six and gave strength to the team’s total. Gaurav Chaudhary’s unbeaten electrifying knock of 97 runs of 78 balls (7 fours and 3 six) & Parth Agarwal’s well supported 40 runs in 47 balls set the pace for PCA Punjab XI victory and team reached the required total of 268 runs in the 47.4 overs thereby winning the match by 6 wickets. Punjab Reds’ Sumit Sharma & Ikjot Singh bowled spells of 10-0-48-2 and 8-0-39-1

Gaurav Chaudhary of PCA Punjab XI was declared the Man of the Match for his match winning batting performance.
Winner for the PCA Trident Cup Challenger will be decided from Best of three final matches and the next final will be played tomorrow 25th March 2021. Third match on 26th March will be played only if required.

The key takeaways of match played today:
PCA Rest of Punjab Red: 267/7 (50 over’s)
Nehal Wadhera 51, Gitansh Khera 78 unbeaten, Kuwar Pathak  29 , Vishwa Pratap 25 , Mandeep Inder Bawa 24 runs
PCA Punjab XI (bowling)
Abhinav Sharma (10-0-56-3) , Vinay Chaudhary (10-1-34-2) , Gaurav Chaudhary (6-0-37-1) Ramandeep (7-0-34-1)
 
PCA Punjab XI: 268/4(47.4 Overs)
Abhijeet 39, Ramandeep Singh 43, Gaurav Chaudhary Unbeaten 97, Parth Agarwal Unbeaten 40 runs
PCA Rest of Punjab Red (bowling)
Sumit Sharma (10-0-48-2) , & Ikjot Singh (8-0-39-1)

Man of the Match Gaurav Chaudhary.