Bowlers guide Airtel One to One Run victory over CapGemini in Milan Red Ball Q-F

Venue: Westen Railway Traffic Sports Club, Plot 3

The quarterfinal encounter between Airtel One and CapGemini was one of the best knockout thrillers one would ever witness. A do or die match. 100% commitment from players. In the end the result is decided by a difference of a solitary run. Airtel being the lucky ones this time. It can be concluded that cricket won in this particular match irrespective of the result.

Capgemini called correctly and decided to take the field first. Bowlers bowled splendidly in restricting the opposition to 127, despite taking only 4 wickets. Openers provided a decent start to Airtel, adding 32 runs in 4.3 overs when Vishal Kambli was caught off his own bowling by Paresh Kadam. Next two wickets also fell in quick succession without adding much to the total. But OpenerJitesh was solid at one end. He got a perfect partner in Ravi Katoch and both batted till the last over to take the score to 126. Jitesh departed for personal score of 52 of 57 balls. Ravi remained unbeaten on 39. Piyush Kamble was the pick of the bowlers scalping 2 wickets while giving away just 19 runs in 4 overs. The other bowlers did a good job in keeping the run rate down.

Airtel were probably 20 runs short given that they lost only 4 wickets. But anything is possible in the game of cricket. Capgemini batsmen did not apply themselves in what could have been an easy chase. Apart from Paresh Kadam (56 runs, 40 balls), Yogesh (19) and Vishwas (18), no other batsmen could stay at the wicket and Capgemini innings folded inside 19 overs losing the match by just one run. Paresh just did not get the support from the other end and therefore failed to cross the line for his team.

Airtel bowlers bowled superbly in what was a team effort. Opening bowlers Arif and Ravi managed a couple of wickets each while three other bowlers captured a wicket each. Capgemini should take this loss as the one that they gifted away. On the other hand Airtel One snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and move to the semi-final of the tournament.

Brief Scores:

Airtel One: 127/4 in 20 overs (Jitesh 52, Ravi 39, Piyush 2/19)

Capgemini: 126 All out in 19 overs (Paresh 56, Arif 2/19, Ravi 2/23)

Report by:

Sumanyu Jain (Regional Manager & Editor @CricketGraph)