Baniya XI 151/9 in 20 overs (Prasang 39, Prashant 22, Ashu 3/30) defeated Urban Rockers 115/10 in 19.5 overs (Gaurav 68, Varun 11, Amit 5/15) by 36 runs
The fourth season of Airforce Cricket Cup concluded with Baniya XI easily trouncing the opposition in the finals here at the Nacholi Cricket Arena. The city of Faridabad had a lot of Ariel objects flying here and there for past one month. They were not the Mig-21s or Mirage 2000s. They were all tennis balls. Played across four grounds of the city, the tournament consisted of 16 teams which were split across 4 groups.
“No one ever remembers the man who came second” were the words of ‘VIRUS’ in three Idiots movie. Probably that’s how the things work outside cricket, but in this game? The second ranked team always has a chance. Both the finalists, Baniya XI and Urban Rockers were ranked second in their respective groups after the conclusion of league stage.
It was the evening of 1st September. The new traffic laws were already in place since morning and the Air Force cup was about to get a new champion as well. Urban Rockers won the toss and they invited Baniya XI to bat first. The pair of Puneet (11) and Prashant (22) got them off to a flying start but the pair failed to bat long enough. Ashu removed both the openers in consecutive overs and the third poll of inning went to Dinesh who absolutely foxed Taalu with a beauty.
After a brief resistance Amit and Pinku departed too this left Baniya XI in some sorts of trouble at 65 for 5 in 10th over. They needed a quick reprieve and the responsibility to do so was with Vijay and Prasang. The pair knocked down a couple of overs cautiously but once their eyes were set, they went bang. A 40 run partnership between two revived the inning and with the help of some late blows from Akshay ensured a target of 152 for the UR to chase. The innings of Prasang (39) and Vijay (22) made a massive difference in the final. Especially Prasang was the difference between 120 and 151.
What do you expect from your team in a final where the first inning score reads 151? You surely are looking for a great start, some top order runs. Unfortunately it was not the day for the Urban Rockers top order. They were probably in a Hurry to finish it quickly so they can watch Jasprit Bumrah destroy the West Indian batting lineup further. Amit got rid of both the Rockers openers in the very first over and by the time it was 5th over, the top 4 were back in the pavilion.
The misery did not just stop there for the Rockers. They lost Dinesh after a brief resistance and half of the Rockers were gone along with the dream of trophy too. Things were looking too bleak for the Rockers and it looked like that the final will be over in no time but Gaurav had some plans, an idea of not giving up till the end. While wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Gaurav kept sailing the balls into the boundary and ensured some fightback. Although the target was too far, his 68 runs reminded the followers of those 76 from Hardik Pandya in the Champions Trophy Final. The game was over after Prakash had Luv caught at midwicket for 7 but Gaurav stood there in disbelief, probably a few more balls and one more wicket and he would have done the job? Who knows, but what we know here is the Rockers were forced to kneel down in front of Amit who finished with the figures of 5 for 15 in his 4 overs.
