SAS Nagar (Mohali), September 15: Amritsar Soormas were crowned champions of the Mankind Pharma Sher-E-Punjab T20 League Powered by Punjab Kings after defeating Ludhiana Lions by eight wickets at the I.S. Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Sunday.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl, the Soormas produced an impressive bowling performance to restrict Ludhiana Lions to 142 in 20 overs.
Amritsar made an excellent start with the ball, picking up wickets at regular intervals and putting the Lions under pressure from the early stages. Ludhiana struggled to build partnerships and slipped to 86/7, with captain Salil Arora, Abhijeet Garg and Krish Bhagat among the key batters dismissed.
Mayank Markande was the standout bowler for the Soormas. The spinner bowled a disciplined four-over spell and finished with figures of 3/17, making important breakthroughs and keeping the scoring rate under control.
Ludhiana looked to steady their innings when Harish Kumar and Jassinder Singh came together. The pair started rebuilding and gave the Lions some hope of reaching a competitive total.
However, Shubham Rana broke the partnership by dismissing Jassinder for 14 off 12 balls.
Harish then joined hands with Sahil Bhaskar as the two staged a late fightback. They added 26 runs for the final wicket to take Ludhiana beyond the 140-run mark.
Despite their late effort, Amritsar’s bowlers had done enough damage through the first 15 overs to keep the Lions in check. Ludhiana eventually finished on 142, setting the Soormas a target of 143.
In the chase, Amritsar lost Jashanpreet Singh early, but Naman Dhir and Sahaj Dhawan quickly put the innings back on track.
The pair added 58 runs, with Dhir continuing his aggressive approach. The Soormas captain was eventually dismissed for a quick 29 off 12 balls, but by then Amritsar were firmly in control.
Dhawan continued to guide the chase and was joined by Rahul Kumar. The duo ensured there were no further setbacks as Amritsar comfortably chased down the target at the I.S. Bindra Stadium that has hosted international matches in the past.
Dhawan completed an unbeaten half-century, while Rahul Kumar remained unbeaten on 42 off 30 balls as the Soormas sealed an eight-wicket victory and lifted the Sher-E-Punjab T20 League title.
