Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 25: Gritty batter Puneet Wattal scored his third consecutive half-century today to guide Navreh Cricket Club to narrow victory over Ace Cricket Club, while Sagar Bhat was brilliant with the ball to power Habbakadal Warriors to emphatic 4-wicket win over Jagti Oriental Cricket Club in the ongoing Kashmiri Pandit Cricket League (KPCL) Season-III, being organised by Safran Cricket Club at Country Cricket Stadium Gharota, near here.
In the first match, Habbakadal Warriors got the better of Jagti Oriental Cricket Club (JOCC) in an easy contest by 4 wickets.
Earlier, batting first, JOCC scored a modest total of 99 runs in the 19.5 overs. Rajesh Raina, S Bhat, Nikhil Bhat and Vaneet Dhar contributed 14, 13, 13 and 12 runs to the total respectively.
For Habbakadal Warriors, Sagar Bhat tok 3 wickets, Amit Bhat and Vinayak Pandita bagged 2 wickets each, while Ronak Razdan claimed one wicket.
In reply, Habbakadal Warriors chased the target easily in 17.4 overs by losing 6 wickets, thus won the match by 4 wickets. Ronak Razdan top scored with unbeaten 27 runs, while Alok Mam and Deepak Mam contributed 15 runs each. Ankush Bhat chipped in with 11 runs.
For JOCC, Amit Bhat and Gibbs took one wicket each.
For his splendid bowling display, Sagar Bhat was adjudged as the man of the match.
In another match, Navreh Cricket Club defeated Ace Cricket Club in a thrilling contest by a narrow margin of 7 runs.
Batting first, Navreh Cricket Club scored a good total of 159 runs in the stipulated 20 overs, losing 6 wickets in the process. Puneet Wattal top scored with 56 runs off 38 balls, studded with 7 delectable boundaries and one six, while Karan Gupta contributed brisk 47 runs off 31 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Anil Raina also contributed 20 runs to the total.
For Ace Cricket Club, Rahul Raina Jr took 3 wickets, while Shashank Raina, Sachin and Prabal Pandit claimed 1 wicket each.
In reply, Ace Cricket Club scored 152 runs, thus lost the match by a narrow margin of 7 runs. Mukul Raval top scored with 70 off 52 balls, while Sumit Sharma (28) and Rishab Raina (11) were the other contributors. For Navreh Cricket Club, Vikas Pandita and Ajay took 3 wickets each.
Puneet Wattal was adjudged as the man of the match for his superb batting show.
The matches were officiated by Ashok Singh and Girdhari Lal as the umpires, while Arun Zalpuri, Deepak Pandita, Raja Nadeem and Amit Bhat were the scorers. Ajay Peshin was the match referee.
The tournament is being held under the overall supervision of Chief Organiser Sarthak Khoda.