Hosts Srinagar to face Puducherry in final

Inter-NIT Faculty & Staff Cricket tourney

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

SRINAGAR, July 7: Hosts NIT Srinagar and NIT Puducherry booked their places in the final of the All-India Inter-NIT Faculty & Staff Cricket Tournament 2026 after registering convincing victories in their respective semifinals at the Physical College, Ganderbal.

The hosts defeated NIT Jalandhar by four wickets in the first semifinal, while NIT Puducherry outclassed NIT Hamirpur by six wickets in the second. The two winners will now meet in Wednesday’s championship final, while NIT Hamirpur and NIT Jalandhar will contest the third-place playoff at NIT Srinagar.

Opting to bat first, NIT Jalandhar suffered an early collapse and were reduced to 14/4 inside four overs. However, Saurabh Dinkar and Sourav Gupta revived the innings with a crucial partnership. Dinkar struck a fluent 71 off 50 balls, including seven fours and three sixes, while Gupta contributed 56 off 44 deliveries as Jalandhar recovered to post 148/5 in 20 overs.

NIT Srinagar’s bowlers kept things under control, with Dr Mohsin returning impressive figures of 2/15. Mudasir Qadir and Dr Majid Hussain claimed one wicket each.

In reply, the hosts paced their chase well. Dr Majid Hussain top-scored with 32 off 24 balls, while Shahid Hamid made 26 off 18. Wicketkeeper Sohail Baba provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 25 off just 13 deliveries as NIT Srinagar reached 149/6 in 18.3 overs to seal victory with nine balls to spare. Kundan Kumar was the pick of the Jalandhar bowlers with 3/20.

In the second semifinal, NIT Hamirpur posted 152/8 after being put into bat, thanks largely to Neeraj Dhiman’s explosive 80 off 46 balls. Vivek Tiwari added 31, but NIT Puducherry bowlers ensured the total remained within reach. Ismail M starred with 4/20, while Gowrishankar chipped in with 2/16.

Puducherry made light work of the chase, riding on a commanding 67 off 43 balls from Alaguraja K. The innings, featuring eight fours and four sixes, guided his side to 156/4 in just 16.4 overs and a six-wicket win. Alaguraja was named Player of the Match for his match-winning knock.

Earlier, NIT Puducherry had entered the semifinals with a dominant 10-wicket victory over VNIT in the quarterfinal, chasing down 106 in only 10.1 overs through an unbeaten opening stand between Alaguraja K (71*) and C.K. Prakash (26*).