East Side Warrior (ESW) captain Kashif Naseem won the toss and elected to bowl first against EACA’s 40-Overs Champions Everest/ACS. It was a must-win game to qualify for the semi-final of the EACA’s 2011 T20 tournament. Everest/ACS batsmen found themselves in trouble from the very start as the left-handed fast bowler Kashif steamed in from one side and Usman Rafiq with his swing bowling from the other side restricted the batsmen from playing shots.
East Side Warriors cricket team.
Usman Rafiq bowled the opener Aun Merchant in his first over with an in swinging ball that clipped the middle stump. Dyanand Roopnarine could not capitalize after a steady start and was bowled by Usman Rafiq. Tamesh Balwant and caption Karan Ganesh put up a solid stand to build the Everest/ACS inning, with Tamesh scoring a well-made 53 before Chaudhry had him LBW. Ganesh was caught after scoring an aggressive 29. Everest/ACS batsmen had no answer to the leg-spin attack of ESW. Saud Alvi, Chaudhry and Reahan not only restricted the batsmen but also kept taking wickets at crucial times to make sure the score did not pass 122 runs. The leg-spin trio has been the backbone of the ESW bowling attack.
With 122 runs on board to chase, Ali Alvi and the in-form Usman Rafiq opened the batting for ESW, pacer R. Merchant and veteran Trevor Walke gave Everest/ACS a good start getting rid of Ali Alvi. Saud Alvi came in to bat at number two. Saud and Usman batted responsibly taking the shine of the new ball and not giving away their wickets. Medium pacer Prem and spin bowler Karan Ganesh were hit all over the ground by both batsmen. Usman Rafiq who has been in great form hit 33 runs which included 3 Sixes before getting caught going for the fourth six.
Ganesh took the wicket of Saud Alvi in the 17th over after the damage was done. Saud scored his second 50 of the 2011 T20 tournament helping himself to 4x6s and 2x4s. Sajjad Malik and Husnain Rafiq made sure the effort did not go to waste with seven runs required from the last over. Sajjad facing the first ball of the last over from Prem cleared the leg side boundary with a huge six over the fence to level the score and hitting the next ball for other six to lead his side to the top of the table standings with the win against Everest/ACS. This is the first time ESW has defeated Everest/ACS and with their key star player Sabeeh Rafiq missing the game.
The ESW fairytale started after the team’s disastrous 40-overs season where they won only three games. Some players left the team and the new players are still adjusting to the game. This has taken some time but finally the team has found the perfect mix. The T20 format is better suited to the ESW game plans and has put some new life into the club and its players. ESW has now beaten Atlantis, Richmond Hill, and Everest/ACS all in a row. Now ESW faces MMZ in the semi-final. It should be a firecracker of a game testing the spin attack of ESW vs. MMZ’ strong batting line up.
Scorecard:
Everest 122 for 8 in 20 overs:
Tamesh Balwant 53; Karan Ganesh 29; Dyanand Roopnarine 15
ESW Bowling: Kashif Naseem 4-0-27-1; Usman Rafiq 3-0-10-2; Chaudhry 4-0-26-1; Saud Alvi 4-0-25-0; Reahan 4-0-24-3
ESW 128 for 5 in 19.3 overs
Saud Alvi 53; Usman Rafiq 33; Sajjad Malik 20 not out; Husnain Rafiq 3 not out