Lotus Sports Club Lusaka 111/7 in 20 overs ( Joseph 53, Narendra 17, Mohsin 3/12) lost to Metro B 113/3 in 16.4 ( Essa 38, Patel 36, Ashish 1/13) by 7 wickets
The birthplace of Henry Olanga, the ex Zimbabwe cricketer have slowly started to adopt the game of cricket. The recently concluded MCA T20 league (All the divisions), held in Lusaka, one of the fastest growing cities of Southern Africa is a prime example of same. Organised by Midlands Cricket Association, the tournament saw 10 teams go head to head in a league cum knockout format in the B division. In term of longevity, the MCA T20 B league leaves behind the IPL and BBL far away. The tournament goes on for 5 months, pretty much how once Ford Ranger cup used to move ahead. So basically when the rest of the world enjoyed the IPL, The ICC cricket World Cup and even the first three Ashes tests, people in this Zambian town were celebrating a league of their own.
After five months of extravagant cricketing action, the stage was set for the final. Lotus Sports Club who finished the league table on top were up against the winner of Semifinals, the Metro B. These teams finished first and second respectively on the points table hence it was expected to be a great contest. On the evening of 18th , Metro B won the toss and elected to field first. The opening Burst from Patel and Ghodiwala left them paralyzed even before the conclusion of the powerplays.
In a desperate need of a partnership, LSCL found a hero in Joseph who tried his best to bail them out of trouble but the initial damage meant they had a very faint chance of reaching a big total. How many times a team recovers from 24/4 to 200 in a T20 game? Surely not many and LSCL were no exception. Despite the courageous 53 from Joseph, they could manage only a Nelson at the end.
The presence of two Patel’s in their XI meant the target certainly wasn’t massive enough for the Metro B to be worried about. They were among the three teams who scored a total in excess of 200 in the current season and their record while chasing wasn’t too bad either. They lost Maksud early but a 68 run partnership between Hussain (38) and Munavara (36) ensured a good comeback, good enough to almost bury the opposition. The first inning hero Joseph got rid of a Patel but that did not deter the Metro B XI. With the Help of another Patel, Safwan, Hussain took them past the target without any hesitation.
