CHANDIGARH, NOV 30 : A majestic knock of 115 by Amrit Pal Singh and his brilliant century opening wicket partnership with all-rounder Gurinder Saini helped HDFC Bank claim the V Godrej Defender Cup by beating Godrej Cricket Club with a margin of 42 runs in the final at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here today.
Godrej Cricket Club won the toss and elected to field. HDFC were given a flying start by openers Amrit Pal Singh and Gurinder Saini who were associated in a 120-run partnership. These openers executed their strokes fluently all over the ground. Amrit Pal Singh was more aggressive. His 70-ball innings of 115 contained 16 well-time boundaries and one huge six. Consistent run-getter Gurinder Saini scored 54 runs. Charanjeet Singh contributed a valuable knock of 35.
In reply, Godrej Cricket Club were progressing well till 10th over as they had made 82 for 2. Sending Jai Kapil at the fall of the second wicket, was the turning point. Jai Kapil’s slow batting virtually tilted the balance in favour of HDFC. He scored 17 in 15 balls and the run rate touched more than 10-12 runs per over in the last overs. Jai Kapil was out at 139 in 17th over. Between 10th and 17th overs, Godrej CC could muster only 57 runs. Godrej CC innings terminated at 202 for 8 in allotted 25 overs. Manav Asopa topscored with 55 while Kulwinder Romy posted an innings of 38. Umesh Kaira made 36.
All-rounder Gurvinder Saini broke the backbone of Godrej XI batting by capturing four wickets for 32 runs. Kamal Walia bagged 2 for 31.
Inderjeet Singh of Godrej was declared the best bowler and Gurvinder Saini of HDFC received the best batsman’s award. Umesh Kaira of Godrej was the best all-rounder. AP Singh of HDFC was declared the Man of the Match for his outstanding century.
Sanjeev Aggarwal, Regional Head of Godrej and Boyce, was the chief guest and distributed the prizes.
Brief scores: HDFC Bank: 244 for 3 in 25 overs (Amrit Pal Singh 115, Gurinder Saini 54, Charanjeet 35, Vijay Pal 1 for 28, Umesh Kaira 1 for 38),
Godrej Cricket Club: 202 for 8 in 28 overs (Manav Asopa 55, Kulwinder Romy 38, Umesh Kaira 36, Jai Kapil 17, Gurinder Saini 4 for 32, Kamal Walia 2 for 31).
Best bowler: Inderjeet Singh (Godrej CC). Best batsman: Gurinder Saini (HDFC). Best all-rounder: Umesh Kaira (Godrej). Man of the Match: AP Singh (HDFC).