Suresh and Kulwinder star in Cyprus cricket quarter finals

By Richard Boxall

Sri Lanka Lions and Punjab Lions have progressed through the quarter finals of the CCA BAOFinancial Autumn 2022 T20 Cup at the Ypsonas cricket ground.

Suresh Gedara’s 91 from 58 balls was the mainstay of Sri Lanka Lions’ 204-8 after being put in by Black Caps. He received good support from Akila De Silva (39) and Roshan Lakmal (36) while Resham Singh took 4-32 for Black Caps.

The Caps made a good start in reply, reaching 91-2 in 9 overs before Suresh Janaka, the leading wicket-taker in the recent 40-over league, ripped the heart out of the batting by taking 5-13 in his 4 overs. Sukhwinder Singh tried to revive the innings with a rapid 42, but Black Caps were all out in the last over for 183, losing by 21 runs.

In the day’s other match Punjab Lions chose to bat first against Markhor but struggled to 83-5 in the 12th over before Kulwinder Singh came to the crease and, as so often before, changed the complexion of the game. His 46 in 18 balls, including 5 sixes, helped the Lions reach an all-out total of 161, although they could have been made to regret the 3 overs unused at the end.

Markhor were, however, unable to mount a serious challenge to this total, despite Awais Ahmed’s 40 from number 8, as Gurpartap Singh, Taranjit Singh, and that man Kulwinder Singh each took three wickets. They were all out for 125 in the last over to lose by 36 runs, but can feel pleased with their achievements in this competition.

The other two quarter finals – Cyprus Moufflons v Bazigar and Riyaan v Nicosia Tigers – will be played on Sunday at Ypsonas, leading to the semi finals and final early in the new year.