Kolkata, June 15 (IANS) Riding on Sourav Halder’s hat-trick, Kolkata Royal Tigers bagged their first victory in Season 3 of the Bengal T20 League after a hard-fought one-run win over Servotech Siliguri Strikers at Eden Gardens on Monday.

Asked to bat first, Royal Tigers posted 147/9 in 20 overs. Abishek Porel (76 off 53) and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (33 off 27) were the pick of the batters. For Siliguri Strikers, Ishan Porel (3-24), Geet Puri (2-28), and Kaushik Maity (2-17) were the star bowlers.

Chasing the target, Karan (46 off 35) and Sudip Chatterjee (35 off 31) gave Siliguri Strikers a fine start. Vishal Bhati (18 off 15) also chipped in with a handy knock.

Against the run of play, Sourav brought Royal Tigers back into the game in the 13th over, dismissing Vishal off the fourth ball, followed by Snehasish Saha (0) and Badal Singh Balyan (0) off the fifth and sixth balls respectively to become the second bowler to bag a hat-trick in the league’s history after Md Shami’s feat earlier in the tournament this season.

Despite the quick wickets, Pramod Chandila (35 off 23) gave Siliguri Strikers some hope, but Sayan bagged two crucial wickets in the final over to help the team script its first win. Siliguri Strikers fell short, scoring 146/7 in 20 overs.

Sourav was the star bowler for Royal Tigers, bagging 4 for 22, while Sayan Ghosh (2-25) and Ashutosh Kumar (1-25) also impressed.

Convincing win for Malda

In the second match of the day, Sobisco Smashers Malda registered a convincing eight-wicket victory over Adamas Howrah Warriors.

Batting first, Adamas Howrah Warriors posted 132 in 20 overs, with Shashank Singh top-scoring with a fighting 60. For Malda, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal starred with the ball, claiming four wickets, while Mukesh Kumar chipped in with three.

In reply, Malda chased down the target comfortably, reaching 136/2 in just 13.4 overs. Abhimanyu Easwaran anchored the innings with a composed 58 off 37 deliveries, while Akhil provided the early impetus with a brisk 41 off 21 balls as Malda cruised to victory with plenty of overs to spare.

Brief scores:

Adamas Howrah Warriors vs Sobisco Smashers Malda

Adamas Howrah Warriors 132 all out (20 overs) lost to Sobisco Smashers Malda: 136/2 (13.4 overs) by 8 wickets.

Kolkata Royal Tigers vs Servotech Siliguri Strikers

Kolkata Royal Tigers 147/9 (20 overs) beat Servotech Siliguri Strikers 146/7 (20 overs) by 1 run

–IANS

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