CCPA Avengers – HPL 47/10 in 7.5 overs (Mukul 12, Kasot 10, Kuldeep 2/8) defeated Shekhawati Royals- HPL 38/8 in 8 overs (Ashok Swami 13, Ravi 8, Arjun Rathore 4/4) by 9 runs
While the tea was about to be called and England were just 4 wickets away from drawing the Ashes in the biggest form of the game, test cricket, a few thousand kilometers away from The Kingston Oval, a battle between Avengers and Royals was going on. It was the occasion of the final of HPL-Josh Jazba Junoon.
This Year HPL Inter Department Cricket Tournament-2019 has been organised under the umbrella of HDFC Bank celebration of 20 year in Rajasthan !
The tennis ball cricket tournament was played at the Panther Cricket Stadium of Pink City, Jaipur. The week-long tournament saw 28 teams battle it out for the trophy. India’s leading Bank, HDFC were the title sponsors of the tournament hence – HDFC bank presents HP- Josh Jazba Jonoon – 2019.
The tournament was played on a knockout basis and the two most consistent teams among 28, the Shekhawati Royals and CCPA Avengers made it to the finals. What we love about the knockout tournaments out there is that when it comes down to the finals, you can’t say which team is favorite because both the teams make it after beating all the opponents.
On the evening of the finals it was the Avengers who won the toss and they elected to bat first (That’s what they do at most of the tennis games). When it comes down to an eight-over tennis ball game, you don’t have much to describe. Every ball seems like a replica of the last one that was delivered. Avengers lost the openers early and the number three, Gaurav Tiwari could not make an impact either. A couple of slow yet steady innings from Mukul and Kasot meant Avengers cross the figure of 35 in the 6th over with 7 wickets still in their hand.
With 12 balls and 7 wickets in hand, you would expect the team to launch some rockets and accumulate runs at over 10 and sometimes even 12 but that didn’t exactly happen here. Avengers lost 7 wickets for next 10 runs and they were bundled out for 47, their lowest score of the tournament while batting first.
Royals had a target where they needed just a run off every ball to have their hands on the trophy but that’s not how the Tennis ball cricket is played. They got off to a magnificent start thanks to some clever innings of openers Ravi and Ashok. The pair added 23 off first 21 balls and at this point, the game looked over for the Avengers as the opposition was just 25 short of the target with all their wickets intact and 27 balls still to go.
Be it a Tennis ball or Leather ball, cricket is unpredictable. Don’t believe so? Ask the Shekhawati Royals. From 23 for none, they collapsed to 38 all out. Known as Rowdy, Arjun Rathore demolished the Royals batting lineup with his spectacular bowling. He started off by rattling the stumps of Ashok and finished in a similar fashion by absolutely destroying Kuldeep. All his four wickets came with a ‘B’ next to his name and it was evident that Royals had no answer to his pace and extravagant cutters.
Apart from Ashok, none of the Royals could make it to the double digits. They lost 10 wickets for 15 runs and let a golden opportunity slip away. Avengers celebrated the hard-earned victory in style.
