Cricket is a game where the ability to handle pressure often means the difference between winning and losing. Just ask any of the eleven KCC cricketers that played in the Grand Final of the 2015-16 One-Day Premier League as they saw the title slip from their hands as they wilted in the face of unrelenting pressure applied by DLSW.
The forecast of rain later in the day may have prompted KCC skipper Waqas Barkat to elect to field after wining the toss. The rains never came but his decision to bowl first paid early dividends as both DSLW openers were dismissed within six overs with only 17 runs on the board. Both batsmen were caught behind the wicket – Jangzeb Khan by wicket-keeper Muhammad Khan for a duck and Anas Khan to a stunning grab by Ryan Campbell at first slip for 7 – off the bowling of Adil Mehmood, who bowled at good pace with the new ball. Babar Hayat, coming in at number four, chose to counter-attack in the 8th over, hitting the first four balls of Adil’s 4th over for three sixes and a four – the brutal assault effectively ending Adil’s bowling effort for the day.
Hayat and Waqas Khan added 51-runs for the third wicket with Hayat contributing 38, including five sixes and one four. However Hayat succumbed rather meekly in the end when he top edged a delivery from Najeeb Amar and was easily caught by Ninad Shah at mid-wicket. Waqas Khan scored a useful 34 and with Ehsan Khan, the pair added 39 runs for the fourth wicket. DLSWCC’s skipper Munir Dar joined the fray but he fell cheaply leaving his team on 5/117 in the 31st over. Ehsan and the remaining batsmen cobbled together another 90 runs but in the end, their eventual total of 207 looked well short of a par score. Ehsan was the top-scorer in the DLSW innings, with 43 from 60 balls while Imran Arif claimed the last four wickets to finish with figures of 4/38 from his ten over spell. Adil Mehmood, Najeeb Amar and Waqas Barkat picked up two wickets each for KCC.
The KCC reply got off to a poor start with talisman Irfan Ahmed holing out to Munir Dar at mid-off off the bowling of Niaz Ali in the third over. Irfan had already been given one life and his replacement, Kinchit Shah, was given three lives before finally nicking a catch to first slip off the bowling of Nadeem Ahmed for 13. Poor catching blighted the DLSWCC’s fielding effort and they grassed a staggering nine catches on the day.
Ninad Shah was joined at the crease by Ryan Campbell following the departure of his brother Kinchit in the 14th over. Ninad and Campbell batted superbly for 26 overs in a partnership worth 111 runs that looked to have sealed the game for KCC. But they were never able to dominate the DLSWCC’s bowling attack, which was changed regularly by skipper Dar. Nadeem Ahmed and Ehsan Khan hurried through overs in middle stages in an effort to disrupt the two KCC batters but it took a full toss to break the partnership as Ninad bunted a simple catch back to Nadeem in the 40th over. Ninad had batted beautifully to that point, hitting 70 from 131 balls, including three fours and one massive six that landed in the baseball ground.
With 56 runs needed from the last ten overs, and seven wickets still in hand, the game was KCC’s for the taking. Level heads and some sensible batting was all that was needed to take KCC to the title. But, as so often happens in pressure situations, KCC’s middle and lower order batting imploded. Ninad was followed quickly back to the pavilion by his skipper Waqas Barkat, who played a poor shot and was caught at long off by Waqas Khan for 0; Jamie Atkinson fell lbw to Ehsan Khan for 11 and Muhammad Khan holed out to Amandeep Singh for 10. With Campbell still at the crease, the odds were still firmly in KCC’s favour, but a horrible mix-up between him and Najeeb Amar saw Campbell run-out when taking an unnecessary second on a misfield. The throw came in from deep third man and Campbell was caught well short of his ground as the jubilant DLSWCC players celebrated, scarcely believing their luck. Campbell had scored 69 off 90 balls with six fours.
The DLSWCC bowlers kept things tight as the carnage continued. Imran Arif failed to keep out his first ball and was trapped LBW by Amandeep and then Najeeb top edged the first ball of the 49th over, bowled by Uzair Khan and was easily caught by Shahid Wasif behind the wicket. The batsmen crossed as the catch was taken, leaving Roy Lamsam on strike with last man Adil Mehmood coming to the crease. But it only took one more ball to finish the game as Uzair beat Lamsam’s defensive prod and the stumps were scattered. In an unbelievable finish, KCC had lost 7/45 in nine overs to finish all out for 197 and DLSWCC were victors by 10 runs. The wickets were shared amongst the bowlers with Ehsan Khan, Amandeep Singh, Nadeem Amed and Uzair Khan claiming two wickets each. The nine dropped catches were forgiven.
At Mission Road: DLSWCC Prism 207 from 49 overs beat KCC KARP 197 from 48.2 overs by 10 runs