GCA 95/10 in 34.4 overs (Aksh 15, Prithvi 14, Aryaman 3/33) defeated A.R. Gymkhana 75/10 in 34 overs (Yash 22, Aman 15, Ayush 4/13) by 20 runs
20 teams consisting of players under the age of 12, split across two groups were up against each other in the first season of Lions Sports Club League. Roughly over 240 kids who instead of enjoying their summer vacations by playing PUBG or watching cartoons, decided to fine tune their cricketing skills in a competitive environment.
The table toppers from group B, Glisten Cricket Academy were up against A.R.Gymkhana who finished the league phase ranked second in the Group A. The tournament witnessed a lot of low scoring games and the final was no exception. Most of the games where a massive score was registered, the chasing team lost badly and this factor surely had an impact when GCA won the toss and they decided to put up a target for the opposition to chase.
The inning started with bowlers dominating straightaway (and it remained that way till the end of the game). GCA failed to put up any partnership in the sweltering heat. Akash Dhiman and Prince Chauhan showed some promise but they threw away their wickets after weathering the initial storm. The hopelessness of batsmen can be understood by the fact that none of the partnerships from GCA could enter the twenties, with highest being 18 for the last wicket between Prithvi Chauhan and Anshu Kashana. GCA were bundled out for 95 in 35th over.
The target was pretty familiar for the A.R.Gymkhana batsmen; in fact they chased 93 in the semi final against Shiv Cricket Academy without losing a single wicket. Aman Bora and Nazim khan guided them into the finals with cool heads and the story needed to be repeated again, this time to have their hands on the trophy and in fact after the first inning, they must have thought that they already have it in their bag. The 12 year old A.R Gymkhana boys learned about the harsh reality of this game of cricket only after a couple of hours later.
The A.R Gymkhana lost their semi final hero Nazim in the third over. Raghav followed him soon. Aman and Garvit endured some tough spells for next 14 overs but they could manage only 26 runs on the way. Although run rate was never a problem, the young kids lost patience in the 22nd over when Tushar removed both these batsmen. The wickets instilled a belief in GCA bowlers and they started believing. The Gymkhana suffered a memorable collapse as they were reduced to 53 for 7 from 41 for 2. The inning never recovered from its nosedive and celebrations begin for GCA when Yash was stumped of Abhishek after a gritty 22. Gymkhana’s chase fell short by 20 runs.
