City XI CC’s Ajay Gouda guides his team to Vijay Reddy Memorial Cricket Tournament Championship’22

The final match of the Vijay Reddy Memorial Cricket Tournament was played on December 12 last year at the KSCA Ground in Raichur, Karnataka. The tournament was organized by City XI Cricket Club Raichur, who also featured in the final against Gadwal Cricket Club. The finale was a nail-biting thriller as the hosts won the match by just five runs on the penultimate ball of the game.

Batting first, City XI Cricket Club posted a respectable score of 130-6 in 20 overs, thanks to their top order batter N Raghavendra, who top scored with 33 runs off 34 balls, including four boundaries. He stitched a 50-run partnership for the third wicket with Ajay Gouda, who muscled 27 runs off just 18 balls, hammering five boundaries. Gouda, a right handed batter from Hyderabad, was unfortunately run out in the 10^th over, however the duo had ensured that they had created a solid base for their team. The two played some good-looking shots and ran well between the wickets. Shreehari Madyalkar, who came in to bat at number five also mustered 27 runs off 32 balls. During his patient innings, Madyalkar peppered the boundary rope three times as he hit three fours in his knock. City XI Cricket Club put together 130-6 in 20 overs.

A score like 130 is often a tricky one as the chasing team does not have a clear idea of whether they should go after the bowling from ball one or take their time to get their eye in. Gadwal Cricket Club, in reply, fought hard as they fell shy of just five runs in the end. City XI Cricket Club snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat. First with the bat and then with the ball, Gouda of City XI Cricket Club was the wrecker-in-chief as he scalped 4-30 in his 3.5 overs. Gouda picked three wickets in the 20^th over of the match. With seven runs to get off the last five balls and four wickets in hand, the odds were in Gadwal Cricket Club’s favour. However Gouda had other plans as he cleaned up the tail in style. For Gadwal Cricket Club, G Ganesh, who came in to bat at number three, top scored with 28 runs off 22 balls, including three boundaries and a six.