TROJAN CRICKET CLUB

An important fixture for the fate of two sides in this season's CPL took place last Friday. With both, the Leavey Lions and the Cardinal Knights, needing this win to hope for a top-four finish, a fierce battle was fought between the two, as the Knights came out victorious by 20 runs.

The Knights skipper, Vaibhav Oberoi, won a critical toss and elected to bat first. The Lions knew the importance of an early breakthrough and rookies, A Rizvi and Akshay Kumar, were on top of their game as they held the brakes initially to restrict any loose runs for the Knights. It took time for the Knights openers, Sushil Premjani (19) and Denver Bopaiah(19), to get settled in but they constantly kept the runs ticking. It was Prayut Patel who got the first breakthrough by rattling the stumps of Sushil Premjani and his opening partner soon fell victim to the Lions skipper. The shortage of runs didn't stop the Knights skipper as Vaibhav Oberoi's (34) quick cameo along with Prassana Venkatesh (13) got the Knights to a respectable total at the 12th over mark. The Lions were not picking many wickets but were keeping the flow of runs limited. Gaurav Mathur (25) and Aakash Shanbagh (34) did their best to change that and hit some quick fire boundaries to propel the Knights to a par score of 159 at the end of the 18 overs.

Cardinal Knights: 159/5 in 18 overs
Pick of the Bowlers for Leavey Lions: Akshay Kumar 4-0-16-1

An interesting chase for the Lions loomed ahead as openers Prateek Kathpalya (12) and the skipper Vidyadhara Rao K came out to start proceedings. Runs started to fly for the Lions, but so did the wickets. Contributions from Prayut Patel (10) and Rohit Kumar (21) were the major ones in the chase for the Lions, but with wickets falling at regular intervals, an on par run rate didn't help the Lions at the halfway stage of their innings. What followed next was an unexpected turn of events! Pradyu Rock (61), with three wickets remaining in the Lions Camp, turned the ignition switch on as he lit long firecrackers over the boundary to give some hope for the Lions. His powerful and mighty 6 sixes and 3 boundaries in an entertaining 37 ball innings sparked an eventful comeback and with 50-odd needed of the last six overs, a win was definitely on the cards. Praddy tried his best to get his team over the line but with limited help from the other end and lack of wickets, his innings came to an end in the 17th over. It was a fascinating display of boundary hitting by Pradyu Rock towards the end, but at the end of the day, it was the Knights who secured an incredible 20 runs victory.

Leavey Lions: 139/10 for 16.1 overs
Pick of the Bowlers for Cardinal Knights: Gaurav Mathur 4-0-20-3

A disappointing loss for the Lions as their campaign hits a dent towards the race for top four. Inspiring performances from their top players will be the key as they enter the business end of the tournament. On the other hand, the Knights secure another win to boost their chances to the top four and will be hopeful of less nervy wins the next time around. Overall, the CPL Fall 2017, as of now, is still open to all teams!