APL 2026: Pathak’s fifty guides Dibrugarh Warriors to eight-wicket win over Nagaon Rangers
Guwahati, Aug 12 (IANS) Diwiz Pathak’s unbeaten half-century guided Dibrugarh Warriors to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Nagaon Rangers in Match 23 of the Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water Assam Premier League 2026 at the ACA Stadium here on Wednesday.
Chasing 111, Warriors overcame an early setback to cruise home in 17.3 overs, with Pathak anchoring the innings from the outset. He found good support from Rituraj Biswas as the duo put together an 84-run partnership for the second wicket.
Pathak remained unbeaten on 64 off 58 balls, hitting nine fours, while Biswas contributed 33 off 34 balls before being run out in the 14th over.
Earlier, Sidhartha Sankar Baruah was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/15 as Warriors restricted Rangers to 110 in their 20 overs despite a battling knock from Jitu Ali.
Opting to field, Warriors got the ideal start as Ranjan Bikash Das dismissed Sumit Kashyap on the third ball of the match, with the Rangers yet to open their account.
Jitu Ali then led the way for Rangers with a hard-fought 42 off 35 balls, striking six fours. Skipper Anurag Talukdar also chipped in with 26 off 30 balls.
However, Rangers’ innings fell away sharply in the closing stages, with only three batters managing to score in double digits.
It was a procession of wickets towards the backend of the innings as Rangers lost their last five wickets for just 19 runs. Baruah finished with impressive figures of 3/15, while Ranjan Bikash Das, Doikho Das, Jitumoni Kalita and Roshan Alam picked up a wicket apiece.
Warriors also had a shaky start to their chase, losing Jay Borah inside the first over after Sunil Lachit trapped him lbw.
However, Pathak and Biswas ensured that the chase was never in serious doubt thereafter, keeping the scoreboard ticking through clever strike rotation and regular boundaries.
With Pathak staying unbeaten until the end, Warriors completed a convincing eight-wicket win and registered their fifth victory of the tournament.
Brief Scores: Nagaon Rangers 110/10 in 20 overs (Jitu Ali 42, Anurag Talukdar 26; Sidhartha Sankar Baruah 3/15, Roshan Alam 1/16) lost to Dibrugarh Warriors 114/2 in 17.3 overs (Diwiz Pathak 64*, Rituraj Biswas 33; Sunil Lachit 1/17) by 8 wickets.
–IANS
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