-Gaurav Tripathi
India once again the champions!
After winning the toss the Indian team playing with a few debutants decided to field first, maybe the demons of batting first and getting out cheaply during last years Indo-Pak match was still fresh in their minds. Things could not have been better for India as they got the wicket of Inam thanks to a brilliant catch by the wicketkeeper Kishan of one of the debutant Supratim’s bowling on the very first delivery of the match. Although, Inam looked unhappy with the decision the Umpire was very much convinced and the Indian team was buoyant as they knew that Inam is capable of playing long innings.
Next man in Majid was a shaky from the start and was dropped on a tough chance by Niraj but couldn’t convert that break into a big score and was out giving a dolly to Chirag at covers off Tejas. The next batsman at the crease Taha was not comfortable facing Tejas and Supratim and was out giving a simple catch to Sushil off Tejas without troubling the scorers.
After his fiery and pacy first spell Supratim gave way to another debutant Waleed who kept the pressure on and was immediately rewarded as Zubair tried to slog sweep him and top edged the ball to the bowler who is too good a fielder to miss such catches and Pakistan were in dire straights at 60 for 4. Their situation got worst when the set batsman Asif got out top edging a pull shot off Kuldeep back to the bowler himself.
Harris and Sheraz should get full credit for the way they played, not giving any chance to the Indian team and slowly ticking the team total close to 100. But Harris was caught by substitute fielder Rahul at mid-on off Kuldeep just when he was looking set for a good score. The next batsman in Humayun is well known for his big hitting in the league but he could not take that risk due to the number of wickets fallen and was happy blocking and nudging for singles to keep the score board ticking.
As was case with most of Pakistan batsmen where they got out after getting a start, Sheraz was bowled by Sushil. Sheraz’s wicket brought Salman, who is also a big hitter to the crease but he did a very sensible job of playing along the ground. At the score 122 Humayun was bowled trying to cut a big off-spinner from Niraj and that brought the Pakistan Captain Amir to the crease.
Amir showed immense patience and character at the crease that was lacking in the previous batsmen. He played a superb innings and added 40 runs with Salman for the 9th wicket and 50 unbeaten for the last wicket with Osama. The duo played sensibly and got Pakistan to a very respectable total of 211/9 which at once stage was looking impossible at 122/8. Had the other Pakistan top order batsmen showed the same resilience as that was showed by Amir, Salman and Osama they would have been defending much higher target that 211.
Indian bowling was also helped by some sensational fielding. Supratim’s full length dive at short fine leg to save a certain boundary, Manas’ full length dive at mid off to save another certain boundary and Saurabh’s amazing effort on the boundary converting a certain six to four are just a few of the examples of the outstanding effort in the field by the Indian team.
The Indian run chase got off to a god start when Majid who is one of the better fielders in the league let a ball through him for four off Harris in the 2nd over. But Harris hit back the very next ball by banging the ball short and Damodar top edged it to the bowler. Satish the other explosive opening batsmen was then joined by Sushil arguably one of the finest batsmen to have ever played in the league and the runs started to come at a good rate.
Satish who is a natural striker of the ball couldn’t hold himself for long and was out against the run of the play in the 10th over trying to cut the ball, the bowler again was Harris who had bowled exceptionally well the whole day and was rewarded for his consistency.
Satish’s wicket brought Supratim to the crease, who looked confident right from the first ball. At the score 49/2 Pakistan fielders were throwing themselves around and backing their bowlers looking for another breakthrough but the batsmen at crease were not taking any chances. As has been the trend for the day, Sushil got out after getting a start and looking good for a big score. He flicked the ball straight to the square leg off Osama who was jubilant after getting Sushil’s wicket.
Niraj who joined Supratim at the score 114/3 was in a hurry to finish the game and made his intentions pretty clear by slog sweeping Asif for two huge sixes in an over. Niraj and Supratim shared a partnership of 102 runs in 14 over to finish the game without any more hiccups. Niraj scored 75 of 49 balls (4x4, 4x6) and Supratim was unbeaten on 61 of 75 balls (5x4). It looked like a one sided contest but Pakistan definitely had their chances after scoring 211 and having India at 12/1. But in the end it was a solid batting display by the Indian batsmen.
Niraj was named the MVP of the match for his 75 runs and 2 wickets. Supratim was named the best batsman for his patient 61. Tejas was named the best bowler for his accurate bowling at the start of the Pakistan innings which fetched him 2 wickets. Taha the young Pakistan wicketkeeper was named the best fielder of the game.
Wells played guys!!!!!!!