UTCA T20 meet: Paras fashions Warriors’ win with all-around show

Paras (3/23), who delivered a three-wicket haul, tamed Punjab Panthers’ top order and later played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 62 off 38 balls*, guiding his team to chase the target of 166 at the loss of five wickets in 17.5 overs

Led by a brilliant all-round performance from Paras, WildWood Warriors registered their second consecutive victory in the Chandrashekhar Azad Tournament defeating Punjab Panthers by five wickets at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula on Saturday.

Players in action on Day 2 of Chandrashekhar Azad T20 Tournament at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula on Saturday. (Sant Arora/HT)

Paras (3/23), who delivered a three-wicket haul, tamed Punjab Panthers’ top order and later played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 62 off 38 balls*, guiding his team to chase the target of 166 at the loss of five wickets in 17.5 overs.

Skipper Gurinder Singh added 34 runs. Batting first, Punjab Panthers put up 149/5 on the board with unbeaten half centuries from Ankit Kaushik (53) and Pardeep Yadav (52).

In another match of the day, HIIMS Hawks secured a dominant eight-wicket victory over City Challengers. After opting to bat first, City Challengers posted a mammoth of 203/4 in stipulated 20 overs wherein Gurneet Singh (57 of 38 balls), unbeaten Mayank Sidhu (43 off 27 balls) and Amrit Lubana (38 off 19 balls) were the top contributors.

In response, Hawks comfortably chased the target in 18.4 overs, powered by skipper Shivam Bhambri’s explosive 59 runs of 39 balls and Nehal Pajni’s steady 54 runs of 35 balls. Later in the innings, Nikhil Sharma’s quick-fire 45 runs from 23 balls sealed the win.