By Norbert Abbi
Aziz Damani continued their quest to T20 success with wins on the day against Strikers in the morning and Kutchi Tigers later that afternoon. Both games were extremely entertaining but the weather played a part in limiting how much the attending fans had to witness.
Aziz Damani Vs Strikers CC
9:00am
Results Summary
Aziz Damani 183/6 in 20 overs (Mir Afzal 77 Not Out, Saud Islam 44 off 36) beat Strikers CC 90/5 in 13 overs (Zephania Arinaitwe 32 off 31, Perry Wazombe 17 off 12) by 13 runs (D/L revised score of 103 in 13 overs)
Man of Match: Mir Afzal, Aziz Damani (77 Not Out)
With the sun out and bright, Aziz Damani took to the game without worry of a repeat of the previous weekend where they had to forfeit a game for fielding an unregistered player.
Their captain, Saud Islam was more than happy to set things in motion even when the opposing team, Strikers seemed to be short on players. But as per regulations, the game had to be played and luckily for Strikers, the missing two players turned up barely five minutes into the game.
Aziz Damani won the toss and elected to bat first. Man of match Mir Afzal (77*) who batted at number three put the Strikers bowlers through the paces with his unbeaten score. He partnered well with the captain to inflict the damage on the strikers and by the time Saud’s wicket fell, they were well over 100 runs in under 11 overs.
The final score for Aziz Damani was a hefty 183 runs in their allotted 20 overs, losing six wickets in the process.
In response, Strikers got off to a fine start with Zephaniah (32) and Perry (17) who easily knocked off 30 runs in under three overs. The game got to a point where the runs kept ticking, but so did the wickets. Perhaps, the turning point in the game was the fourth wicket that fell right before the heaven opened.
Unable to complete the game, the dreaded Duckworth and Lewis method to determine the win had to be used since the minimum overs to constitute a game had already been played. With a revised par score of 103 in 13 overs, the Strikers fell short by 13 runs. It would have been a different story if the Strikers held on and did not lose the fourth wicket before the rains fell.
The result was in no way reflective of the proceedings of the game which could have gone to the wire should all conditions have remained perfect.
Kutchi Tigers Vs Aziz Damani
2:00pm
Results Summary
Aziz Damani 94/5 in 10 overs (Afzal Mir 41 off 20, Issaneez Emmanuel 27 off 13) beat Kutchi Tigers 89/6 in 10 overs (Dhansukh Jesani 26 off 16, Ankit Patel 18 off 12) by 5 runs.
Player of Match: Mir Afzal, Aziz Damani (41 off 20, 2/24, & 1 Field Dismissal)
Due to the early afternoon downpour, the much anticipated game in the afternoon had to be cut short by an entire innings – 20 overs were lost due to unfavorable conditions on the playing surface. Players and fans alike had to wait on the ground to dry for them to bear witness to the action.
With the overs reduced to 10 a side, Aziz Damani won the toss, chose to bat first with a goal of scoring 100 runs in the 10 overs. A plan they executed very well but fell short by five runs.
Mir Afzal (41) opened the batting this time and was as lethal as he was in the morning game against the strikers. His timely knocks got Damani well on their way but quick wickets from Nanji Pindoria (2/8 in 2 Overs) and Pankaj Venkaria (2/19 in 2 Overs) got them pegged down to leave the 100 run target a mere fantasy.
However, Isaneez’s brilliant 27 in 13 balls that had four maximums including a pedaled short that found its way over the boundary for six got them within reach. Damani eventually managed 95/5 in 10 overs, a score they felt they would easily defend.
If easy is what they had in mind, Damani had it all wrong. The first over saw Nanji Pindoriya get 13 runs setting up the game for some crunchy proceedings. The Tigers were well underway until Tabby Denis took the ball and bowled out Nanji with his very first ball.
The Damani bowlers continued to apply the brakes in intervals with Isaneez playing a vital role picking two wickets in two overs for a measly six runs. With 41 runs needed in three overs, the Tigers managed to reduce the deficit to 10 in the last over setting up an interesting and very decisive last over.
With the Tigers needing 10 runs in the last over, Isaneez took it upon himself to use his experience to see that his team won the game. The Tigers only managed to get five runs off the over, lost two wickets in the process, and also lost the game.
