Swapnoj steers Patil XI into final

Wadekar XI lost the advantage of winning the toss as their batsmen crawled against an attack that was accurate but nowhere near being lethal. They were further pushed back when opener Praful Waghela fell in the sixth over, with just six on the board.

Skipper Vinit Indulkar and Madkaikar made amends in a brief stand of 47, but theirdismissals, caught by Rohan Dalvi off Rohan Amladi and Mohammad Shoaib respectively, put their team back on the neutral. Atul Lad and Neil Daftary put on 49 for the sixth wicket, but 166 for eight was always going to be difficult to defend.

Patil XI began ominously, a breezy 23 (19 balls) by opener Sahil Kukreja putting 30 on the board after just four overs. One-drop Abhishek Nair (53) then clubbed the Wadekar bowlers, as Swapnoj dropped anchor at the other end.Nair favoured the sweep and the lofted on drive, and was lucky to clear the fielders in a few occasions. But the partnership, 126 in 28 overs, for the second wicket proved decisive. Man of the match Swapnoj opened up at the end, helping himself to two sixes, the first of the tournament. That brought him Rs 500, an amount Amladi and Mayank Dayal pocketed earlier for bowling two maidens apiece.

Brief Scores: Ajit Wadekar XI 166-8 in 45 overs (Parag Madkaikar 42, Atul Lad 36, Amladi 3-23, Shaunak Gupte 2-16) lost to Sandeep Patil XI 168-2 in 36overs (Swapnoj Thakur 71 not out, Abhishek Nair 53, Pise 2-35).