Punjab Lions and Al Fatah reach Cyprus T20 final
By Richard Boxall
The battle between possibly the two best spin bowlers in Cyprus – Tiwari of MSN Punjab Lions and Ruwan of Lankan SC – went the way of the Punjab Lions skipper as his team completed a 9-wicket win in their semi final of the 2024 BAOFinancial T20 Cup presented by HurryCurry.
Tiwari won the toss and put the Sri Lankan side in to bat, and played a major part in dismissing them for 74 by taking 3-9 in 4 overs of controlled off-spin. He was well supported by his other bowlers, notably Taranjit who bowled well later in the innings to pick up 3-8, as well as taking a stupendous diving catch in the outfield.
Lankan SC’s hopes of defending such a low score depended largely on Ruwan and he delivered his variations well, bowling through the power play. But he was unable to find a way past Tiwari and Zeeshan, and finished with excellent economy of 11 runs from his 4 overs, but crucially no wickets.
The batters were able to cash in against the other bowlers, and achieved a comfortable victory by the 11th over, Zeeshan remaining unbeaten on 35 and Tiwari on 23.
The other semi final, also played at Happy Valley, was a much tighter game with a tense finish. Black Caps had to work hard against a strong Al Fatah bowling lineup to reach 120-7 from their 20 overs, thanks to Pawandeep’s 42 and Bhupinder’s 37 not out.
In reply Al Fatah slipped to 63-6 before an unbroken stand of 58 between Asif (24) and Umar (36), who had earlier taken two wickets each, turned the match round and gave them a four-wicket win with just 4 balls to spare.
The final between Punjab Lions and Al Fatah will not take place until 23 June after some other important matches have been played. First the latest edition of the European Cricket Series, which has already started, will occupy every day of the next fortnight, with 16 teams competing in this popular 10-over series at the Ypsonas cricket ground.
This will be followed by five days of men’s and women’s international cricket between Cyprus and Estonia at Happy Valley – first the 10-over European Cricket Internationals, and then a series of T20 international matches where Cyprus will be aiming to improve its world ranking position. A busy finale to the spring season is in store.