PLHO 133/8 in 20 overs (Abhinav 76, Vinu 13, Jasbir 1/11) lost to NRPL 134/3 in 18 overs (PK 62, Amit 53, Atul 2/27) by 7 wickets
The 2019 season of Panipat Departmental Cricket Tournament saw some great action throughout the past two days at two refinery grounds in the city. 6 teams representing various departments were split into two groups and played a tournament based on league cum knockout format.
NRPL and PLHO dominated their groups and made it to the finals unchallenged. When two such teams are in the finals, you expect some explosion on the field during the game. That's what the fans of both these teams were expecting too. Unfortunately, the PLHO batsmen failed collectively on the biggest stage after being sent in to bat first.
They lost Dinesh on the third ball of the inning for a duck. Gaurav departed soon to leave PLHO 2 down for 11 in just the second over. This is where Abhinav and Vishnu joined hands and added 50 off 47 balls. Although the partnership was a bit on the slower side, it provided a much-needed base for the middle order. Unfortunately, the middle order could not make any use of that and submitted to some clever bowling from the opposition.
PLHO batsmen were in a competition to see who lasts least on the crease as Abhinav was starved of partners on the other end. He fought alone from one end and witnessed the worst thing a batsman in form can see on the field. He saw his teammates getting scattered like a pack of cards. The brave man, however, did not give up and went on to score a marvelous 76. PLHO could manage 133 in the end. The bowling card saw some exceptional figures as NRPL deployed 7 bowlers and they all bagged one wicket each.
The nightmare of the first inning was probably not enough for PLHO. It became sleep paralysis for them in the second inning. The NRPL openers finished (almost) the game with an 115 run opening partnership which came of 15.5 overs. The failure to grab initial wickets (or any wickets at all when it mattered the most) meant PLHO were out of the game in the first 10 or 12 overs. Amit scored 53 off 56 while PK's 62 came at a quicker pace. He faced 45 balls.
Atul managed to pick up a couple of wickets late in the inning. But as mentioned, it was late, too late for PLHO to think of any miracle. PK bagged the man of the match award for his brilliant 62 with the bat as NRPL enjoyed their evening with millions of selfies on across social media, with trophy in hand off course.
