SRINAGAR: Hosts NIT Srinagar entered the final of the All-India Inter-NIT Faculty and Staff Cricket Tournament 2026 after defeating NIT Jalandhar by four wickets in the semifinal, setting up a title clash with NIT Puducherry.
The final between NIT Srinagar and NIT Puducherry will be played on Wednesday, while NIT Hamirpur and NIT Jalandhar will battle for the third-place finish.
In the first semifinal, NIT Jalandhar opted to bat first but suffered early setbacks as they were reduced to 14/4 inside four overs. Saurabh Dinkar and Sourav Gupta then rescued the innings with a crucial partnership. Dinkar scored a brilliant 71 off 50 balls, while Gupta added 56 off 44 deliveries to guide Jalandhar to 148/5 in 20 overs.
For NIT Srinagar, Dr Mohsin delivered an impressive bowling performance, taking two wickets for just 15 runs. Mudasir Qadir and Dr Majid Hussain also picked up one wicket each.
Chasing 149, NIT Srinagar produced a steady batting performance. Dr Majid Hussain led the chase with 32 runs off 24 balls, while Shahid Hamid contributed 26 off 18. Sohail Baba’s unbeaten 25 off 13 deliveries helped the hosts reach 149/6 in 18.3 overs and seal their place in the final.
For NIT Jalandhar, Kundan Kumar was the standout bowler with figures of 3/20.
In the second semifinal played at Physical College, Ganderbal, NIT Puducherry defeated NIT Hamirpur by six wickets to secure the other final berth.
Batting first, NIT Hamirpur scored 152/8, powered by Neeraj Dhiman’s explosive 80 off 46 balls. For Puducherry, Ismail M starred with the ball, claiming four wickets for 20 runs.
In response, NIT Puducherry comfortably chased the target in 16.4 overs, reaching 156/4. Alaguraja K played a match-winning knock of 67 off 43 balls, hitting eight boundaries and four sixes, and was named Man of the Match.
Earlier, Puducherry had reached the semifinals after registering a dominant 10-wicket win over VNIT in the quarterfinal, with Alaguraja K scoring an unbeaten 71.
The tournament will conclude on Wednesday with the final between hosts NIT Srinagar and NIT Puducherry, alongside the third-place playoff between NIT Hamirpur and NIT Jalandhar.
