American Cricket Champions League
By Matt Becker
In one of the wildest days ever in the short history of the American Cricket Champions League, the Pittsburgh Cricket Association (PCA) played the Midwest Cricket Tournament (MCT) to a tie on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
The day started with rain and clouds and a soaked outfield at PCA’s home ground in the Steel City, and with the threat of the match being canceled, the players decided to pick up their gear and drive the nearly 200 miles to Columbus, Ohio, where they would play a rain-shortened 20 over a side match. The decision exemplified the love of cricket – and the passion for the game – that the players in the ACCL possess.
Once settled in Ohio, Pittsburgh won the toss and elected to field. Abishek Murali fell early for the ‘home’ side of MCT, but PCA otherwise raced out to a strong score of 30 for only 1 wicket through four overs, thanks in large part to Presenjit Singh’s lovely cover drives.
As the match appeared to be quickly slipping through their fingers, PCA introduced spin in the fifth over in the form of Saurabh Joshi, which helped ebb the flow of runs from MCT, and would put them in the ascendancy shortly afterward, as both Dhruv Patel and Nakul Patel would fall in short order leaving PCA in trouble at 47-4 through nine.
But Singh continued to bat well, and kept his team afloat through the difficult stretch, getting them to 85-4 before he was clean bowled byGaurav Thakur. All told, he was at the crease for over 70 minutes and scored a strong 66 – a good day at the office for any player. Singh’s wicket was followed by a brave sixth wicket partnership from Bharat Jatrapolu and Chirag Ambalia that took MCT to a final score of 139.
It was a fine total that promised a thrilling chase in the 2nd innings, and the two clubs didn’t disappoint. PCA opened their batting with a boundary from Deepak Malortha, but he wouldn’t last long at the crease, as MCT’s Ali Khan bowled him with an absolute screamer one over later, leaving PCA tottering at 7-1 after two overs.
But just as Singh did for MCT in their innings, Sohail Chaudry put Pittsburgh on his shoulders and carried them through the difficult early stretch. He would hit two massive sixes in the third over to bring PCA to a much better position of 26-1 through four.
MCT’s attack didn’t do themselves any favors, giving up five wides in the fifth over, which put PCA at 36-1 and looking strong. Spinner Devin Patel – introduced in the sixth over – wasn’t enough to stem the tide of PCA runs, as they cruised to 52-1 after eight.
However, the match would soon lurch back in MCT’s favor as both Pratik Patel and Sid Gurjal fell in quick succession, but Sohail continued to be in the runs, and at 85-3 through 13, PCA looked poised for victory, all that was needed was a slight uptick in their run rate and they would be home and dry with at least a few balls left to spare.
The MCT attack took wickets as the overs clicked over, but PCA continued to be the stronger side. Sohail fell but Prajna Pati scored a lightning quick 44 off of 24, and with three overs left to play, PCA only needed 15 runs to seal the victory. But then disaster struck the Pittsburgh side, as they lost two wickets in run outs and a third shortly thereafter, leaving them needing seven from the last over. It proved to be too much for PCA, and MCT hung on and clawed their way through the final six deliveries – and the match ended all square at 139 a piece.
Players from both sides were surely disappointed, but a tie seemed just about the right result at the end of the day – a day that started at 8:30 in the morning in Pittsburgh and ended just before seven in the evening in Columbus – for after sacrificing so much just to make the match happen, neither team deserved to lose.
It was a thrilling day of cricket, and the rematch promises to be equally as thrilling – as it will be a “winner take all” situation on August 9th in Pittsburgh for a spot in the ACCL Championships in October.
