Two SCC League cricketers added their names to the honour boards this past weekend with some sterling performances with bat and ball. Waqar Khattak reached a century against the DPR Hot Dogs, scoring 109 in their Division 1 match up. Paras Khushalan scorched the Bashers in Division 2, taking five wickets for only 12 runs in his six overs to help lead Pudong Power to victory.
Division 1
DPR Hot Dogs vs K2 CCC
A rematch of the 2011 Semi-Final, the Division match on Sunday featured a determined K2 side still looking for their first win of 2012 and a Hot Dogs team that was struggling to make up numbers as many of the side’s mainstays were unavailable. The Hot Dogs won the toss and put K2 into bat. The decision looked good as JJ Lim (8-1-36-1) and Irfan Idrees (8-1-47-1) were able prize early wickets in swinging conditions. Waqar Khattak dug in under the pressure and while his first three batting partners departed for little runs, he continued to build K2’s total. He finally was able to build a solid partnership with Najeeb Afridi, who followed up his 71 last week against the Bashers with 66*. Khattak reached a century with a straight shot over mid wicket and was run out on 109 having scored 11 fours and one 6. Zahid Afridi added 18 runs from just five deliveries as K2 completed their overs with a score of 256 for 4.
The Hotdogs started there chase but immediately was on the back foot as Mike Tsesmelis (4) was bowled by old mate and former Hot Dog Mehmood Afridi (5-0-33-1). Alistair Bourne (25) and Pratik Shukla (24) combined for a nice 50-run partnership before being caught off of Sajid Anwar’s (6-0-23-2) bowling. Sharik Afridi (8-3-15-2) tied down the middle order batmen with pace, taking Ben Goodwin (6) and JJ Lim (1). Nick Liffe (7) was run out trying to make a quick single and regular Division 3 wicket keeper Andrew Steel was caught out for a duck as the Hot Dog’s tail struggled to put up runs on the board. With Gavin Morgan unable to bat due to injuring himself while in the field, the Hot Dogs were all out for 95, well short of the total needed.
K2 CCC 256/4, DPR Hot Dogs 95/9 – K2 won by 161 runs.
Division 2
Bashers CC vs Pudong Power
The defending champion Pudong Power came into their third game of the season still looking for a win. They were meeting a club in the Bashers that had yet to lose a game in any division this season. The Bashers won the toss and sent Pudong into bat. Early wickets fell, with little resistance offered from many of Pudong’s top order. The highlights were Bernie Hughes 24 (37 deliveries), Suresh Ramalingam (33), Paras Khushalan (34) and Santosh Yadav (19). The pick of the Bashers’ bowlers were Desmond DeSilva (6-0-24-2) and Sam Finnerty (6-0-36-2). Pudong were all out for 160 in the final over.
Defending low scores, early wickets are always critical to apply pressure for the chasing team. Pudong struck in the 4th over and then again in the 9th and 10th overs while at the same time keeping the required run rate in check. At drinks the game was evenly poised at 4 for 61. Wickets straight after drinks ensured the required runs were always going to be difficult with the Bashers all out for 100. Andrew Yee 21 (36 deliveries) and Kaylan D’Silva 16 (34 deliveries) were the only two batsmen to make double figures. Strong bowling from Khushalan (6-0-5-12), James Gooding (5.5-2-3-19) and Yadav (6-0-25-2) kept the Bashers bats in check. The climb proved too much for the Bashers who fell all out for 100.
Pudong Power 160/10, Bashers CC 100/10 – Pudong won by 60 runs.
DPR Hot Dogs vs Dynamite Devils
The Hot Dogs won the toss and elected to bat first. Dynamite bowlers Rana Guha (6-0-24-4), Abdur Rahman (6-0-24-1) and Darren Burns (6-0-21-1) took wickets at regular intervals and restricted the Hot Dogs with their disciplined bowling attack. Steve Levy (43) tried to build partnerships throughout the innings, but the tight bowling wasn’t allowing many batsmen to get going. Rak Mistry (7) and Hari Kallepalli (9*) were able to tack on some runs in the final overs to take the Hot Dogs score to 142 for 10 in 29.5 overs.
Dynamites skipper Rakesh Patnaik headed up the chase, placing shots around the ground for a quick 47. Megh Kalyanasundarem (33*) and Guha (18) also added runs to the board. The Hot Dogs got decent spells from Kallepalli (6-0-21-2( and Mandar Sathe (6-0-14-1) but the score proved to be just too low a total to defend. The Dynamite Devils reached 145 in the 26th over having only conceded five wickets.
DPR Hot Dogs 142/10, Dynamite Devils 145/5 – Dynamite Devils won by 5 wickets.
Division 3
DPR Hot Dogs vs Dulwich Knights
The sun was shining and a gentle breeze was up on a great day for cricket at the SRFC. Dulwich won the toss and decided to bat first. However they were up against a determined Hot Dogs bowling unit who, after a slow start, set about putting pressure on the batsmen and taking wickets in quick succession. Two Hot Dogs bowlers, Peter Roy and Kashan were both on hat-trick balls as they took two back-to-back wickets (neither managed to get the magic third). The first innings definitely belonged to the Hot Dogs as they restricted the Knights to 66; Bruce Neilson-Watts was Dulwich’s top scorer with 22 runs.
After a quick break, the Hot Dogs set about reaching their total, although in the early overs Dulwich certainly had the upper hand with some tight bowling. Once the first wicket fell, man on a mission Andy Steel came into bat and ran pretty much everything! There was not a single run left on the field and between him and opener Venki Eegapatti, they racked up most of the needed runs. Dulwich were not beaten however, with Toby Robinson staring in a spirited and aggressive bowling attack taking 3 wickets for 24 runs from four overs. They had left themselves just too much to do though, and the Hot Dogs won the match with seven overs to spare.
Dulwich Knights 66/8, DPR Hot Dogs 67/5 – DPR Hot Dogs won by 5 wickets.
Upcoming matches
With the SCC Dragons in action this weekend, there are only Division 3 matches: Pudong Dads & Lads vs Pudong Dream Team, Daredevils CC vs DPR Hot Dogs, and Bashers CC vs Dulwich Knights.