Mexico Union Cricket Club remember, remember the fifth of November |
|
|
11/06/2017POSTED BY Secretary Mca |
|
 |
|
The Mexico Union Cricket Club (MUCC) overcame a spirited Aztecs side on Guy Fawkes Day to register their first win in the Lincoln Clarke Trophy 2017-18. The MUCC captain Revan Ankad won the toss and elected to bowl on a red-hot afternoon at the Reforma Athletic Club. The first nine overs of the Aztecs innings were stuff of attrition, due to the accuracy and economy of MUCC pacemen Muhammad Sajjad, Matt Noble, Kumar Kannan, and Ashwin “leg-spinner” Rangaraj. First to go was Suchit Misra, bowled through the gate by Noble for 2 in the second over. Anurag Tripathi followed him back to the Philip’s Pavilion two overs later, run out for 7 courtesy of some excellent fielding by Kumar Kannan and Kaushal Ahuja off Noble’s bowling. In walked captain Aman Arora to begin his Man of the March performance for the Aztecs. Kumar removed Amit Kumar for 7 in the ninth over as the Aztecs crawled to 34-3. As the tenth over began, Arora and Matt Tyler were at the crease and the sons of Moctezuma began to hit out. Tyler continued his great form from the Reforma game two weeks back by taking Rangaraj for four runs through deep extra cover in the second ball he faced, and two balls later Arora got in on the act with a four of his own that raced to the deep extra cover boundary. 10 from the over at the end of the tenth over and the Aztecs were moving at last. The pair put on 23 together before Tyler fell to Sajjad for 13 in the final ball of the twelfth over, just seconds before the drinks break, to take the Aztecs to 64 for 4. Jenny Jacob went for a first ball duck next over (bowled Ankad c Peter Davies) and Kumar brought Arora’s wonderful captain’s knock of 38 to an end (stumped by Kaushal). His score, the highest of the season so far, included 11 in a single over against Sajjad. Arora was replaced at the crease by Archit Goel who proceeded to take Kumar for a maximum over long off to score the only 6 of the Aztec innings. Fifteen overs bowled, and the Aztecs were 81 for 6, with 130 now in sight. However, the MUCC reigned in the batting side. Noble and Rangaraj were brought back into the attack and Davis and Ankad continued their tidy spells of bowling. Noble bowled Sitram Guruvayoorappan for 8 in the eighteen over, and Rangaraj bowled Goel for 20 in the next over. Nirmal Kumar was caught for 3 runs by Rangaraj in the next over from Noble. The Aztecs finished their quota of 20 overs on 105-9, making them the first team this season to cross 100 runs in an innings. A 20-minute break and the MUCC began their run chase. Openers Kaushal Ahuja and Tarun Sharma brought the fireworks to Guy Fawkes Day and exploded to take the MUCC to 47 in seven overs, hitting the Aztecs bowling to all parts. Ahuja showed his intent from the off by smashing Matt Tyler for 14 in the first over, including a 4 to fine leg and a 4 to deep backward square leg. Not to be outdone by his partner, Sharma hit a big six, the only maximum of the MUCC innings, in the third over. It seemed like the MUCC would race to the total, but the Aztecs rallied in the field and pegged back the batting side with their bowling. Ahuja was bowled for 23 in the seventh over by Harish Kumar and in next the over Michael Linnecar caught Sharma for 28 from captain Aman Arora. Then began a bit of wobble by the MUCC. Kumar sent Abeesh Surendra on his way back to the pavilion for a five-ball duck by trapping him lbw in the ninth over to reduce the MUCC to 58 for 3. Ankad and Peter Davies steadied the ship and added 23 together before both fell in the fifteenth over. Membership Secretary Anurag Tripathi steamed in to remove Ankad for 21 (c Jenny Jacob) in the third ball and then channelled his inner Shahid Afridi down the pitch to celebrate the wicket of the MUCC captain. Sitram Guruvayoorappan and Jacob brilliantly ran out Davis for 6 three balls to leave the MUCC 85 for 5, needing just 20 to win the game. The only other wicket to fall was that of Matt Noble to Aman for 5 (c Jacob) in the seventeenth over to claim his second victim of the day. However, Ashwin Rangaraj and Rohit Poojary kept calm to see the MUCC home by four wickets in 18.2 overs. A Nasser Hussain at the Gabba in 2002 moment avoided for MUCC captain Ankad and his team will certainly remember, remember the fifth of November as the day they picked up their first win in the Lincoln Clarke Trophy 2017-18. - Craig White (Photo feature: MUCC Captain Revanakumar Ankad (left) and Aztecs Captain Aman Arora congratulating each other after the game) |
|
| You can also enter comments by CricClubs Login | ||
|
||
