Excellent cricket marks ABA
The tournament kicks off with two exciting matches, reports SUJITH KRISHNAN
Southern Rocks Tear Down Tuskers
The Amba Bazar Cricket (ABA) tournament organized by the Melbourne Premier Cricket Club got underway on October 16 in Glen Waverley. Four teams namely, Melbourne Tuskers, Melbourne Strikers, Southern Rocks and Jai Hind CC will battle it out in a 25-over round-robin format over the next few months, with the final scheduled on February 26, 2012. The first match between Melbourne Tuskers and Southern Rocks turned out to be a thriller with the Rocks prevailing by two runs.
Having won the toss, surprisingly, Southern Rocks elected to bat first in blustery conditions favouring bowlers. As expected, the Melbourne Tuskers’ bowling attack led by Amit Bhatia, Ameya Athawale, Vignesh, Mandar Joshi and Ramanand Ruikar maintained a vice-like grip over the batsmen who were stifled by some accurate bowling. Spinner Ramanand proved to be the chief wrecker claiming four wickets, three of which came in his very first over inclusive of a hat-trick opportunity! None of the batsmen got going but somehow collectively laboured their way to post a reasonable score of 70 runs which ended prematurely in the 18th over. At the halfway stage, the momentum clearly rested with the Tuskers and the target of 71 runs seemed a comfortable challenge.
In pursuit of the target, Tuskers seemed to be in control of proceedings thanks to a robust partnership of 42 runs between the efficient Kedar Gokhale and elegant Amit Bhatia. Just when it seemed they would breeze to victory, the dismissal of Kedar marked a remarkable turnaround in fortune and the Rocks fought their way back into the game with an inspired bowling display by Pradeep, Subbu, Raghu, Harsha and Captain Shafi, who cleverly marshalled his resources with intelligent bowling changes. The batsmen found it increasingly difficult to deal with the firepower of these bowlers and the dismissal of the well-settled Amit sent the Rocks into overdrive who then sensed victory. Tuskers lost wickets in a heap and eventually the match was decided in the final over – with three wickets in hand and three runs required to win, Raghu maintained his composure and bowled a magical over to tidy up the tail and seal a terrific victory by two runs. Understandably, the Rocks were ecstatic with the victory and have sent a strong message to their opponents in the competition.
Jai Hind CC wreck Strikers
The second match of the Amba Bazar Melbourne Premier Cricket League between Jai Hind CC and Melbourne Strikers was played on October 23 in warm conditions, entirely different from the tournament opener. Jai Hind CC proved too strong and scored a comprehensive win over the Strikers by 16 runs.
Jai Hind batted first and openers Anay Kanitkar and Captain Arun Sarve got the team off to a rousing start with shots all over the park and in the process, providing the thrust for the batsmen to follow. One of the prime features of this team is its depth in batting with many exciting strokemakers in the mix who chipped in with useful contributions to amass a challenging score of 85/9 in the stipulated 25 overs. The Strikers’ bowlers maintained a good line but failed to capture wickets when it mattered. Tushar Pai top scored with an effortless 21 runs and was ably supported by Ulhas Kastekar.
Catches win matches is an oft-quoted adage in cricket and the Strikers’ hunt for victory was thwarted by a spectacular one-handed catch by Tejas Pai fielding in the gully position to dismiss opener Rajendra at the outset. Apart from Ashish Kapoor who scored 23 runs which included some lusty hits, none of the batsmen were allowed to settle in thanks to some marvellous bowling by Jai Hind in particular Shantanu and Satish who kept the batsmen in check throughout. Ultimately, the Strikers were bowled out for 69 runs in the 20th over. Jai Hind had a great day out in the park with a near-perfect all-round display.
Cricket is an exciting game if played in the right spirit and a lot of effort has gone into making this tournament happen. Therefore, it would be favourable to everyone involved if decisions are accepted without showing discontent.
