Kings XI Rain Over Tri-City At Grout Park

Tri-City captain John Persaud bowls to a Kings XI batsman while umpire Alton Brisport and wicket keeper Mahindra Prasad looks on. Photos courtesy of Jennifer Seaver Photography

Commonwealth Cricket League
Schenectady, NY – In what could only be described as classic “English” weather conditions at Grout Park, Kings XI were able to eke out a 5 run victory over Tri-City in a limited 30 over Commonwealth League Premier Division match Sunday July 28th, 2013.

Pictured are Mahindra Prasad, umpire Alton Brisport, Tri-City captain John Persaud and two Kings XI players during the rain.

With heavy leaden gray skies lurking overhead, and a cool, following breeze that blew brief showers across the well groomed landscape randomly throughout the day, one could well imagine that the match was taking place in jolly old England, complete with the Kings XI to boot!

Tri-City won the toss, but elected to give the batting to Kings XI, who took full advantage from the start.  After having driven through a torrential rainstorm earlier in the morning, the visitors knew that they had to make a quick start in order to maximize their run rate in the first ten overs.  Per league rules, if a match is abandoned due to weather, the team with the best run rate in the 10th over (of a 30 over match) is declared the winner.  With that in mind, openers Ravindra Singh and Sumeet Mahal quickly put on a 44 run partnership by the 7th over.  Tri-City was finally able to break through by then, but Sumeet Mahal was able to keep the run rate ticking over after being dropped on three separate occasions.  Kings XI racked up 70 runs in their first ten overs before the wickets began to fall.

To their credit, Tri-City’s bowlers battened down the hatches after that, severely restricting the run rate and taking wickets at regular intervals.  Kabir “Primetime” Poono and Raymond “the Assassin” Cecil sliced through the visitor’s middle order with relative ease, cutting the run rate almost in half.  Kings XI fought back with a strong 57 run 8th wicket stand by Rocky and Sunny Singh.  Rocky had a terrific 47 runs knock, which included four boundaries and three sixes to crown the Kings attack.  Sumeet Mahal contributed 38, with four 4’s a two 6’s of his own, and Ravindra Singh added 29 with two fours and a six.  The visitor’s wound up finishing on 205/9 in 30 overs. Cecil finished on 3/21, while Poonoo added a 2/28 performance to his figures.  Skipper John Persaud cleaned up the tail with a 2/33 haul.

As Tri-City prepared to begin their chase, the sun made a brief appearance and the skies appeared to be clearing, giving hope to the hometown boys that their fortunes would be bright as well.  Their confidence was shaken, however, when usually solid #2 Mahindra Prasad found himself back in the pavilion for naught in just the second over.

There was no panic to be seen in the Tri-City camp at this point, as there was plenty of batting still to come.  Enter Fizel “G” Husain, one of the biggest guns in the hometown’s armory.  Like a trebuchet assaulting a castle wall, Husain proceeded to decimate the Kings XI bowling attack with ruthless efficiency.  Immediately the run rate began to increase precipitously, as one of Tri-City’s Master Blasters dispatched delivery after delivery over the boundary in a series of fours and sixes.  By the ninth over, Tri-City were on 62, and looked poised to overtake the 70 runs Kings XI had put up in their first ten overs.

The second shows Kings XI tandem of brothers Summeet and Gursimritpal Mahal.

However, disaster struck as Husain was cleaned bowled by an excited and excitable Sumeet Singh, who seemed to have a premonition that this wicket was the key to the game.  Without Husain’s potent bat, Tri-City were only able to add four more runs in the tenth over to wind up with 66.  This would prove to be the difference.  Husain finished on 43 with give boundaries and two sixes.

At this point, it was the weather gods who were to determine the outcome.  Despite Husain’s loss, Ajai Ishmael and Raymond Cecil continued the assault and very effectively picked up right where their erstwhile teammate had left off.  While maybe not quite as flashy and explosive as “G”, both men ran well and played smart, perfectly time shots to keep the run rate ticking over.  By the time Kings XI were able to break through their defenses, both men had put on solid 48 run, 4th wicket partnership that appeared to be exactly what was needed.

After Cecil was clean bowled by Siddharth Sharma in the 22nd over, Tri-City were feeling good about their chances.  He finished on 41, with five boundaries in an excellent knock.  With some potent bats still waiting to come in and a very makeable 7.4 runs an over to get for the win, things were looking less dim despite the worsening skies.

However, Kings XI pulled another shocker out of their hat as Maninder Jakhu managed to bowl one of Tri-City’s finest batsmen, Anil Sahaman for just five runs.  This was a big blow to the home town side’s hopes, as Sahaman has always proven to be one of their most consistent weapons.

Tri-City’s Raymond Cecil smiling after taking a wicket, he had 3/21, plus a catch and made 41 runs including five boundaries.

That left things in the hands of Kabir Poonoo. and skipper John Persaud. With a healthy run rate already established, both men knew what they had to do.  They needed 52 runs in seven overs or about 7.5 runs an over.  Their first over together resulted in 9 runs, and things were looking good.  Then the final blow struck as the skies opened up, and the rain came down.

Despite weathering everything that Kings XI could throw at them, Tri-City ultimately could not overcome the elements.  When the umpire finally called the game after a half hour of steady rain, per league rules, all that mattered were the runs in the first ten overs.  Despite having a significantly higher run rate in the 24th over (163 vs. Kings XI’s 143), Tri-City came up short by five runs, having only scored 66 to the visitor’s 70 in that crucial tenth over.

This was a tough loss to take, as the hometown boys wanted a chance to try and bring the win home, and were frustrated to have that chance taken away by the weather.  Still, it was a close, hard fought game that would have been better settled on the field than in the sky.  Kings XI were great competitors, and played the game fairly and in the right spirit.  One couldn’t have asked for a more gentlemanly bunch, and their play was a credit to the Commonwealth League in general and the Premier division specifically.

Hopefully we will see them again in the playoffs.

SCORECARD
Tri-City vs. Kings XI
Type: 30 Overs
Date: 07/28/13
Ground: Grout Park
Toss: Tri-City
Umpire: Alton Brisport
INNINGS OF Kings XI

Extras 23 (14 wd, 0nb, 2b, 7lb)
TOTAL: 205/9 in 30 overs
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): 1/44; 2/63; 3/86; 4/106; 5/106; 6/109; 7/138; 8/195; 9/202

INNINGS OF Tri-City

Extras 9 (7 wd, 0nb, 1b, 1lb)
TOTAL: 163/6 in 24 Overs  (game called due to rain.  Kings XI wins higher run rate in 10^th over)
Fall Of Wickets (Wkt/Score): ½; 2/62; 3/72; 4/120; 5/148; 6/154