DY Patil T20 Cup: Saurabh Tiwary's quickfire ton helps Reliance 1 to beat BPCL and defend title

Navi Mumbai: Reliance 1, riding on skipper Saurabh Tiwary’s tremendous unbeaten 112, successfully defended their title at the 14th DY Patil T20 Cup on Thursday. In the final, Reliance 1 defeated BPCL by 25 runs. Tiwary’s blitzkrieg ensured that Reliance 1 posted a mammoth 185-6 in their 20 overs. His 112 came off 63 balls with five boundaries and eight sixes. [caption id=“attachment_1761821” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Saurabh Tiwary. Getty[/caption] He shepherded the innings despite regular fall of wickets. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant fell early, but Tiwary took charge. Tiwary aligned himself very well with Akshdeep Nath (23) and Nikhil Naik (19). For BPCL, Rishi Arothe ( 2-34 ) was the pick of the bowlers. In response, BPCL chase never really got going. Despite handy knocks by senior pro Abhishek Nayar (43) and India player Shreyas Iyer (35), the chase failed against some accurate bowling. India U19 World Cup star Anukul Roy, with a spell of 3-29, and his U19 teammate Kamlesh Nagarkoti (4-28) helped Reliance 1 defend the title. BPCL ended at 160-9 thanks largely to Shivam Dubey’s late charge of unbeaten 40. Earlier in the semi-finals, BPCL prevailed over CAG in a high-scoring contest while Reliance 1 beat DY Patil Sports ‘B’ in the other semi-final at the DY Patil Stadium. Brief score Reliance 1 185-6 in 20 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 112 n.o., Akshdeep Nath 23; Rishi Arothe 2-34) beat BPCL 160-9 in 20 overs (Abhishek Nayar 43, Shivam Dubey 40 n.o., Shreyas Iyer 35; Kamlesh Nagarkoti 4-28, Anukul Roy 3-29) by 25 runs