Harshavardhan sends RKM Vivekananda into final with century

CHENNAI: Opener PL Harshavardhan Sai (105 off 50 balls, 15 fours, 4 sixes) smashed an aggressive century as RKM Vivekananda College (Chennai) entered the final of the 9th Pavit Singh Nayar Memorial T20 All-India inter-collegiate men’s cricket tournament with a 36-run semi-final victory over Kongu Arts & Science College (Erode) here on Wednesday.

Left-arm spinner C Gokul (6/20) waged a lone battle with a six-wicket haul, but it was not enough to prevent RKM Vivekananda from posting a match-winning total. After putting 197 for nine on the board, riding on Harshavardhan’s hundred, RKM Vivekananda restricted Kongu to 161 for five. In the title decider, RKM Vivekananda will face Guru Nanak College (Chennai), which defeated Saradha Gangadharan College (Puducherry) by seven wickets in the other semi-final.

BRIEF SCORES: Men: Semi-finals: RKM Vivekananda College (Chennai) 197/9 in 20 overs (PL Harshavardhan Sai 105, Nidhish S Rajagopal 51, C Gokul 6/20, Vinukumar Selvaraj 2/22) bt Kongu Arts & Science College (Erode) 161/5 in 20 overs (Meganathan Kumar 38, E Gokul 27, Venkatesh Shanmugam 32*, V Sanjeev Kumar 3/30). Player of the match: PL Harshavardhan Sai. Saradha Gangadharan College (Puducherry) 137 in 20 overs (R Pravin 37, Sunil Krishna 3/22, V Yudheeswaran 2/30, Gurjapneet Singh 2/27, P Saravanan 2/18) lost to Guru Nanak College (Chennai) 138/3 in 17 overs (M Boopathi Vaishna Kumar 56, S Ganesh 26, SR Athish 34*). Player of the match: Sunil Krishna.

Final line-up: Men: RKM Vivekananda College (Chennai) vs Guru Nanak College (Chennai) on Thursday. Women: Guru Nanak College (Chennai) vs Ethiraj College (Chennai) on Thursday