Cricket Aficionados 146/7 in 20 Overs (Vivek 30, Gani 28, Khaiser 2/20) defeated Dragon Fighters 88/10 in 19.4 overs (Suresh 30, Karthik 12, Sachin 3/12) by 58 runs
The Ruma Cricket Ground in the city of Hyderabad was ready to host the final of the third season of Ruma Cup. The tournament that began way back in June with 12 teams now had just two left after 33 Games. The teams were divided into two groups namely Sunday and Saturday group.
How many times we see two teams in a final who struggled through the group stage? Not many. Under normal circumstances, at least one such team gets knocked out in either the quarterfinal or semifinals. But you can’t deny a possibility in cricket. If you head back to the points table of the tournament at cricheroes without paying much attention to this article or the scorecards, you might think it’s either Eleven Stars or The Al Qaswa Cricket Club who won the title. But that’s not the truth. Cricket is a beauty of sport, offers everyone a chance. Even the late bloomers are welcome.
The fourth-ranked teams from both the groups were about to contest a final. While Dragon Fighters made it to the knockouts thanks to their tied game against Hawks, CA made it through for the same reason, except for the fact that they didn’t tie a game of theirs but a different team in contention did same. Tigers XI and Synopsys needed a win to make it through but the game was tied after a lot of on-field drama and that lead CA to the knockouts.
Fast forward to the evening of the final, CA won the toss and they elected to bat first. The pair of Vivek and Gani got them off to a wonderful start with a partnership of 41 runs. They were going at a steady pace when Khaiser gave them duel jolt in the back end of the powerplays. Ram Prakash (21) along with Vivek stitched down another 51 at a healthy pace and bought their team in a position from where they could have launched some rockets.
Just when things were looking bleak for the Fighters, Mani had the Wicketkeeper-batsman caught by Suresh at mid-off. Suddenly, the pitch that was looking like a belter started pitting some venom. Wickets came in clutters and CA lost further 4 wickets in next 18 balls. Vivek who timed the ball well earlier, failed to get anywhere close to the middle of the bat and the second phase of his inning remained full of struggles.
Fahad (13) and Sohail (15) added 31 for the ninth wicket and that ensured a healthy total of 146 on the board. The game was set for a cracking finish but all such observations were sent at a bay by the some breathtaking early spells from CA bowlers. They nipped out top 4 opposition batsmen within the powerplays and did not even let them touch the figures of 20. Suresh (30) and Karthik (12) provided some brief resistance with a partnership of 40 but once Karthik departed, the carnage began once again. In no time, the Fighters were bundled out for 88 and the Aficionados celebrated the victory in style.
