Hosts Kalaiya Cricket Club (KCC) and visiting side Ranchi Cricket Club opened with victory in the Sanshad Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament here on Tuesday. 

Held at the Sideshwar Cricket Ground, KCC defeated Birat Cricket Society by 25 runs thanks to a half century from Aasif Sheikh. Ranchi overcame Mahabir Yuva Committee by 27 runs. 

In the first match, KCC posted 138-9 with Sheikh’s 35-ball 54 proving decisive. Sheikh hit four fours and three sixes, while opener Sunil Dhamala was the only other batsman to make runs in double figures. The U-19 opener chipped in a 25-ball 30 with two fours and two sixes. 

Saddhaf Akhtar took 3-31 from four overs, while  Firdosh Ansari and Puspa Thapa claimed two wickets each. KCC total was bolstered by 20 extra runs.

Birat hardly gave any challenge after Avinash Karn (3-19) and Basanta Regmi (3-15) shared six wickets between them for KCC. Thapa top scored for Birat with 27 off 20 hitting six fours. Hashim Ansari (13), Manoj Mandal (11) and Minash Thapa (10) were others scoring in double figures. Veteran Binod Das and Sushil Kandel also took two wickets each for KCC.

Later in the day, Ranchi made 148-8 before bundling out Mahabir for 121 in 19 overs. Manoj Murmu, Monty Singh and Rajan Sharma took two wickets each for the visitors. Sobha Kanta Pandey made 36 from 35 balls with four boundaries, while RP Singh hit a six in his 32-ball 28 before retiring hurt. Ramnaresh Giri (17) was the other notable scorer. 

Earlier, Nagendra Mishra was involved in two crucial partnerships, guiding his side to a challenging total. He shared 37 runs for the second wicket with Paritosh Kumar (11) and 52 for the third with Nikhil Jaiswal (20) before losing his wicket to Singh. 

Mishra made 56 off 34 with four boundaries and three sixes. Saras Choudhary was 16 not out from 18 balls. Abhishek Jha was the pick of the Mahabir bowlers with 3-24 from three overs.