Air India 140/8 in 20 overs (Rajat 22, Rajesh 32, Kritagya 3/29) lost to Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association 141/9 in 19.5 overs (Karan 39, Abhishek 26, Prashant 3/20) by 1 wicket
Star Players, Massive Sixes, Stumps flying all over and the scorching heat. These are the things spectators witnessed at Jawahar Lal Nehru Cricket Stadium in Ghaziabad for past one week. The third edition of All India Yashoda T-20 Cup Organized by Ghaziabad Cricket Association is already a prestigious tournament for the players on the fringe of State selections. They are up there with legends of past who have represented the state, IPL teams and some even represented the National team too. The battle for prestigious trophy was between Table toppers. While Air India topped the Pool A charts, UPCA topped Pool B. With a 1 PM start, both the captains had extreme weather in their minds and hence wanted opposition to field first to ensure that they won’t be fielding in the scorching temperatures. Manvinder Bisla, the ex IPL superstar and current Air India captain won the toss and decided to bat first without any hesitation. Batting first, The Air India’s inning never took off as they lost their captain in the very first over via a direct hit from Kritagya. Rana followed him soon and the wickets were raining. Another experienced campaigner, the ex IPL legend Rajat Bhatia (30 off 22, 5*4) along with Rajesh Sharma (32 of 24, 1*4, 1*6) stabilized the Air India and ensured that they reach a respectable total of 140 In their 20 overs. Laced with batmen like Almas Shaukat , the target should have been easy for UPCA but as we know, there’s no substitute for experience. The Air India with players like Bhatia and Bisla were always going to be a threat with any target on the board. UPCA’s chase got off to a flying start via Goswami as they accumulated 32 off first 3 overs. Prashant removed Shaukat to bring Air India back in the game. The inning of UPCA followed similar patterns as that of Air India as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Karan (39 off 27, 3*4, 1*6) along with Kritagya and later Ankur ensured that the target won’t be pulled far away by the Air India bowlers. At 110 for 4 in the 16th over, the target was pretty much in the sight of UPCA but once Ankur departed, the pressure was inevitable. Prashant came in to bowl 18th over and turned the game into a mouthwatering contest as he nipped out Abhiskeh and Mohit. A miscommunication between Yadav and Karan turned it into a three wicket over and the game was wide open. A 9 run over by Gaurav, left 17 in the last over for Karan to chase. Maurya started off with a single and now It was for Karan to become a hero. With 16 required off last 5 balls, he held his nerves and finished it with a ball to spare. The last four balls read 2,4,6,4.
