There is something deeply satisfying about a chase that begins with a plan and ends with a whisper. At The BallPark Cricket Ground in Gurugram, Mauka predator chose to field after winning the toss, and by the time the evening was done, they had not only overhauled Mauka Raiders’ 107 but also drawn level in the series, as the reporter at the ground noted.
The Raiders’ innings was a tale of one man standing amid the rubble. Uzair scored 67 off 33 balls, striking five fours and six sixes — a remarkable 60.6% of his side’s total came from his bat alone. Around him, wickets tumbled with a kind of weary inevitability. Muukul Bhattacharya made 7 before Gauresh bowled him; Rameez Halai fell for 5, caught Sandeep off PANKAJ MISHRA. Yogesh Aspa managed 1 before being run out by Siddharth Barot and Gauresh. Kamraan Memon’s 10 ended in a run out effected by Manoj Jadhav and Shafiq Shah. Akshay scored 1, lbw to Gauresh. Mohammad Valiullah Sharif contributed 6 before PANKAJ MISHRA struck again. Affan Aligarian and Amir added 0 and 4 respectively, and Avinash and Harsh remained not out on 2 and 1.
The fall of wickets tells its own story: 13-1, 19-2, 21-3, 45-4, 74-5, 96-6 — the Raiders slid from crisis to crisis, and when Uzair finally fell at 96 in the 13th over, bowled by PANKAJ MISHRA, the innings had lost its spine. PANKAJ MISHRA finished with 3 for 17 from his four overs, and for that effort he was named player of the match. Gauresh took 2 for 17, Rajesh Jamble 2 for 13, and Sandeep picked up 1 for 2 from his 0.5 overs.
The chase of 108 was never likely to be a nervy one on paper, and though Mauka predator lost Irfan Lala for 20 and Manoj Jadhav for 0 in quick succession — both at 55 — the asking rate was always within reach. Pravin Sanil’s 24 off 35 was the anchor before he retired hurt at 61. Siddharth Barot fell for 3, caught Uzair off Mohammad Valiullah Sharif. Sandeep’s 15 included a six and three fours before he was stumped by Uzair off Amir. But Bhalchandra Jadhav’s unbeaten 15 off 8 balls, with two fours, and Shafiq Shah’s 2 not out carried the side to 108 for 4 in 15.2 overs.
For the Raiders, Harsh returned 2 for 22 from 3.2 overs, Amir took 1 for 24, and Mohammad Valiullah Sharif was economical with 1 for 4 from his two. It was not enough. On a night when one batsman fired and the rest flickered, the chasers had too many hands on the rope.
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Filed by Mauka, edited by the desk.
