It’s never too late to share a thrilling finish to the Mid-America Premier 2021 season finale at Addison, IL. It will be a match that thousands of viewers will remember for a long time. The game between Challengers and the ‘Men in Red,’ Chicago United! Challengers defeated Cardinals United by 42 runs to enter the final, and Chicago United (CU) defeated Deccan Mavericks by 40 runs (Hasan Bemat, 61 in 28, Nikhil Kanchan, 51 in 42, Datta Prakash 5-0-16-2, and Najam Iqbal 5-0-21-3).
The very next morning, under clear blue skies, both finalists arrived early, did warm-ups, laughs from the dugouts signaled the enthusiasm and excitement both teams brought to the finals. The teams all posed for group pictures before Challengers won the coin toss and elected to bat on the bat-friendly wicket.
Challengers’ openers, Urvish Desai (30 in 35) and Chirag Patel (35 in 29), initially dominated the bowling of Chicago United’s (CU) bowlers. The top-order batsmen, including Manan Patel, seemed to be in an aggressive mood and posted 105/3 in 14 overs. While Nadeem William, Najam Iqbal, and Homayoon A controlled the runs and took two wickets each to limit Challengers to 220/8 in their 30 overs.
Going into the chase, CU lost two quick wickets with 22/2 in the fourth over. However, Sachin Veerasammy, 30, and Nikhil Kanchan, 21, were very flamboyant with the bat that troubled the fielders. Hasan Bemat, 56, batted brilliantly along with Sami Khan. While the equation and forecasting were leaning towards CU, surprises unfolded in the 27th over. CU lost three wickets (Najam Iqba, 23, Homayoon A, 11, and Sai Charith, 0, in three consecutive balls (one catch and two run-outs). The match tilted towards the Challengers, with one wicket in hand. Nadeem Williams’s (11 in 7) maximum over the bowler was a treat to watch. Followed by Datta Prakash’s (12 in 5) huge maximum in the same over of Urvish narrowed the target margin.
The ‘Men in Red’ won the match with one wicket and two balls to spare. A dramatic and very well contested game that will be remembered for years to come. MVP of the Finals was Hasan Bemat, while Nadeem William’s and Datta Prakash made it a thriller!
Thank you to the host – CASO, Chicago United players, supporters, and fans worldwide.