Deva XI-Gonda 98/9 in 10 overs (Vaibhav 31, Osama 21, Vikrant 2/4) lost to KBF XI- Intiyathok (Shafeek) 101/7 in 8.2 overs (Mohit 21, Harris 20, Salman 6/3) by 3 wickets
17 wickets, 7 of them in just 2 overs. We are talking about the final of Late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Prize Money Cricket Tournament (Ten Sports) which was played between KBF XI and Deva XI- Gonda. The game saw a lot of seas saw the moment and if you keep aside the scorecard, it was a crunch game.
37 teams participated in the tournament and in the end, the two teams who toppled all of them; I guess you already know by now. The Adam Gondwani ground in the small district of Gonda was ready to witness this crunch final. KBF XI won the toss and elected to field first. Deva XI lost Noman (4) early in the inning. Sadik (10) and Saif (6) failed to contribute many either. After 3.2 overs, KBF were 3 down for 29. The score is not as bad considering it was a 10 over the game but in a final, you never know what could be a great defending total, in a final is.
The cream of the inning was in the partnership between Vaibhav (31 off 21) and Osama (21 off 14). The pair gunned down 52 in just 26 balls. Vaibhav was quite aggressive in his inning and he targeted the ‘V’ between mid-on and mid-off to good effects smashing 4 sixes in the area. But once the pair was dismissed, the lower middle order failed to make any use at all and the advantage that Deva XI had, was released. The ninth over of Vikrant turned the game on its side as he nipped out 4 wickets in the over. Deva XI were reduced to 89 for 9 after being 81 for 3. Apart from Vikrant, Vijay collects two wickets while Avinash, Kaapu, and Saddam share a wicket each.
Chasing anything at 9.8 in a final is not an easy job and but KBF XI made the target look easy thanks to some brilliant batting from their middle order. They lost Shankar (2) and Gopa (6) early in the chase but Mohit (21 off 11) and Harris (20 of 18) rebuilt the inning. After the departure of Mohit, KBF lost Atul (0) early but Avinash Rana (17) along with Harris stitched down the victorious partnership of 40. Just like Vikrant in the first inning, Salman too grabbed a three-for in the only over he got but unlike the Deva XI batting order, KBF lower-order displayed some strong will and they chased down the target with 10 balls still in the bag.