Cricket's El Super Clįsico |
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| Secretary Mca (SecretaryMCA) | |
| 12/26/2017 | |
The first ever T20 El Clasico series was played between Mexico City and Guadalajara at The Reforma Athletic Club in Mexico City over the weekend of December 16 and 17, 2017. Two fantastic games took place to welcome Guadalajara into the Mexico Cricket Association. Guadalajara in the Pacific west of Mexico is the second largest city in the Republic and is the home of tequila, mariachis, the footballer Javier Hernandez, and the singer Vicente Fernandez. Cricket dates to 2008 when several Indian Information Technology companies, such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), began moving their operations and employees to Guadalajara as they found it a better landing location to serve their clients in Mexico and Latin America. Their mainly Asian employees brought with them a love and passion for the sport and since then they have been playing tape ball cricket wherever they can find space, from football pitches to supermarkets. Cricket continues to grow in the city, and Guadalajara currently boasts 100 players organised into seven teams. A representative Guadalajara side made the six-hour, 346-mile trip to Mexico City for the games early on Saturday morning 16 December, arriving at The Reforma Athletic Club, which has been the home of Mexican cricket since 1894, at 9am. The day’s match was delayed for an hour as the football final between Reforma and the Texcoco Pumas went into extra time and then penalties, and as a result the match was reduced to 18 overs a side. Batting first Mexico City posted 124 for 4 in 18 overs. That the capitalinos got to such a score was down to the big hitting of Aguilas captain Shantanu Kaveri (46) and team captain (and Mexico Union Cricket Club captain) Revankumar Ankad (47 not) out. The visitors bowled well, generating pace and accuracy, but they were let down by some poor fielding and several dropped catches. Guadalajara captain Jagrit Raj finished with the outstanding figures of 1 wicket for 15 runs from his 4 over spell; Dilip Nallapareddy took 1 wicket for 24 runs from 4 overs; and Rajaprabkaran Arunachalam collected 1 for 33 from his three overs. Their turn to bat, Guadalajara got off to a flyer by racing to 16 runs at the end of the first over. Mexico City took wickets at regular intervals and there were contributions from all Guadalajara with the willow. The game was right in the balance until the last ball of the seventeenth over when Aaditya Kashikar was run out for 7 by Shantanu Kaveri to leave Guadalajara poised at 111 for 8, needing 14 to win off the last over. Ritesh Vyas was run out first ball of the eighteenth over and then Revankumar Ankad removed Dilip Nallapareddy two balls later to pick up his second wicket and complete his Man of the Match performance. Guadalajara were bowled out for 114 and Mexico City took the first game by 11 runs. Perhaps the tiredness from the journey and the rigours of playing at 2,500 metres above sea-level caught up with Guadalajara players in the second match on Sunday 17 December. Guadalajara wielded the willow first and slumped to 53 all out in 16.2 overs, unable to get the tight bowling of Mexico City away. The Capitalinos chased down the score in 6.5 overs by 7 wickets to win the second game and the El Clasico series. The Man of the Match was Harprit Singh for his dismantling of Guadalajara’s top order as he finished with the remarkable figures of 3 wickets for 6 runs from two overs. Despite the two losses, Guadalajara gave a good account of themselves and their performance is more remarkable when one considers that the team was only created two months before, it was their first match playing leather ball cricket, and it was their first game on the second highest turf wicket in the world at The Reforma Athletic Club. These were the first of what will be regular games between Mexico City and Guadalajara. The two cities are already rivals in El Super Clasico in football between Club America and Chivas. Now they are rivals in cricket. Craig White, Secretary, Mexico Cricket Association |
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