TROJAN CRICKET CLUB

Popovich Panthers survived a mighty scare before pulling off an incredible 3 run victory over Cromwell Champs in a nerve-wracking low-scoring thriller

Defending a below par score of 95, Panthers looked down and out for the better part of the match before pulling their acts together with some tight bowling and excellent fielding to bowl out Cromwell Champs for 92.

Earlier, Panthers’ much vaunted batting line-up struggled on a slow and sluggish track as they just about managed an unimpressive 95/9 against a disciplined Cromwell Champs attack .
Almost all the Panthers batsmen struggled on a track where the ball was not coming onto the bat and Cromwell Champs bowlers made it even more difficult with their controlled line and length bowling.
Prashanth Natarajan (3-0-14-1) and Ishaan Vasant(3-0-12-2) used all their experience to strike crucial blows for Cromwell Champs and keep things tight. They were ably supported by skipper Anchit Gupta (3-0-15-2) , SriRam (3-0-20-1) and Harshit Joshi(3-0-31-1)

The Highlight moment of the Panthers batting came when Sibi Naayagamfaced Harshit in the 4th over. Apparently, Sibbi had a bet with Prateek Rohela that he would hit Harshit for 3 sixes in an over and Sibbi wasted no time in settling the matters as he carted 3 sixes off the first 5 balls he faced from Harshit. 
Sibbi (27 Off 19) was the top scorer for Panthers but it’s the rookie batting duo Gautham Srinivasa (18 off 18) and Ashwin Nirantar (15 off 15) ensured that Panthers reached a total which gave them a fighting chance.

The super committed and dedicated trio of Panthers female players Srushti Khairnar, Sanjana Kerketta and Bhagyashri Dave struggled with the bat and some good bowling by Himani Sharma and tight fielding by Champs restricted the Panthers to a below par score of 95/9 in their allocated 17 overs. 
Defending 95 against Cromwell Champs talented batting line up was going to be a monumental effort but the spirited Panthers team was up for the challenge. Cromwell Champs decided to start their chase sending in their female players and Sanjana Kerketta from Popovich Panthers bowled immaculate line and length to restrict Himani to 1 run off 12 balls.

Sneh Kishan and Rana Aijaz started the proceedings for Panthers with Sneh striking off the 1st ball and getting SCCA centurion Abhay Patil out for a golden duck. In walked skipper Anchit Gupta seemingly in attacking mood dispatching first ball for a six. Rana struck crucial blows in the 4th over getting rid of Anchit and Shashank in quick succession. Saksham Grover in company of Ronak Chedda batted with poise and hit some lusty blows and their partnership put Cromwell Champs in driving seat with Champs comfortably placed at 65/3 in 8 overs. With 31 needed off 7 overs and 7 wickets in hand, game was headed for an early finish. But as Mr Navjot Siddhu says “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings ! ” , it certainly wasn’t over for Panthers. The talented rookie Ashwin struck crucial blows in his next 2 overs to get rid of of both the set batsman – Saksham and Ronak and Sneh bowled an unplayable in swinger to send Anurath Gupta packing for a duck. Thanks to super efforts of Ashwin and Sneh, From 65/3 , in 8 , Champs were now in a not so comfortable position with score reading 66/6 in 10.

30 were required of last 5 overs with 4 wickets in hand. Panthers spin duo of Mayur and Sushil bowled tight lines and kept the pressure on Champs batsmen which resulted in 2 run outs – with Sneh and Ashwin again being the impact players for Panthers – this time with their fielding. Champs still needed 20 runs off 3 overs with 2 wickets in hand. Mayur bowled an excellent over cleaning up Sriram with a brilliant off spinner.

18 off 2 required with 1 wicket in hand. Skipper Sushil bowled a tight 14th over conceding 4 runs and now Popovich were out of regular bowlers’ quota. Champs needed 14 off the last over with 1 wicket in hand. Pragdeesh stepped up to bowl the final over but got off to a disastrous start bowling a no ball and conceding a 4 off the free hit delivery and following up with a wide. 6 runs had been scored off 1 ball, and Champs were alive again needing 8 off 5 balls. Pragdeesh recovered and kept his cool to bowl better and Harshit and Prashanth batted sensibly and scored 4 runs of next 3 balls. With Harshit on strike, Champs needed 4 off last 2 balls. Pragdeesh bowled a low dipping full toss and Harshit tried to hit it over cover fielder and timed it reasonably well but Ashwin running in from Long off took a great catch under pressure to seal the win for Panthers.

Final score Panthers 95/9 in 17, Champs 92 All out.