JnJ team wins the first ever T20 knights cup against Motilal Oswal
The T20 KNIGHTS organized by ONEWORLD OF SPORTS is the first and only corporate cricket tournament played under lights giving the teams a chance to play T20 matches in a setting generally seen only on TV and in international quality grounds. The 1st edition of the tournament kicked off in late February 2015 with 6 teams competing for a chance to be crowned the KNIGHTS – Capital First, Johnson & Johnson, Motilal Oswal, Rave Technologies, IDFC & Richmond Group. After 6 weeks of non-stop action, J&J and Motilal Oswal had managed to setup a mouth watering final which everyone hoped would produce a match worthy of it’s stature.
And no one who was at the ground yesterday, left disappointed – though one must say that for a brief half an hour preceding the scheduled time, the ground had been soaked in sudden downpour which had caught all of Mumbai unawares and unprepared. Fortunately due to some quick work by the ground staff who pulled out pitch covers, not much damage was done once the showers receded – the umpires duly made a pitch inspection and due to a 30 minute delay, decided to reduce the match to a 17 over affair.
J&J who had been put into bat might have felt hard done by the rain gods and Motilal could not be blamed if they sang the paeans of mother nature – a decent wicket aided by some moisture would surely give the bowlers an edge under the lights. However such things are generally the stuff that sports commentators and analysts thrive on – cricketers who have to face the music on the field often sing to a different tune. On this day, Abhishek Angane from J&J stepped up to the plate to face the first delivery and make this match all his own. For 15 overs from that delivery, one was witness to the most brutal display of power batting – scoringat a pace which would put even Sehwag to shame, Abhishek plundered 11 boundaries and 8 sixes – scoring 113 runs off 51 deliveries – conceding just 10 dot balls. In the shadow of such power hitting the rest of the J&J batting simply had to just stand on one side and watch – Motilal at one stage actually captured 3 wickets 16 balls – but No.5 Sheikh stabilized the loose end allowing Abhishek free rein. The score at the end of regulation time was 185/4 and Motilal Oswal facing a massive task to try and win this title.
Motilal immediately found themselves on the backfoot as that man again – Abhishek Angane – not satisfied with his batting efforts – ran in to deliver the 2ndover and snapped up Khaire and Uttekar off successive deliveries to leave Motilal re-assessing all plans with score reading 16/2. Deepak and Jinny however dropped anchor and gradually re-built the innings from there to bring the target under 100 at the halfway stage (score 88/3 in 9 overs). However trying to force the pace, Jinny stepped out off the last ball before drinks and was stumped by Sanket – a crucial wicket at the most inopportune moment for Motilal. 98 runs of 8 overs with 7 wickets in hand and a betting person would be giving long odds to Motilal but once again they found a new hero in Mandar Poipkar, a blitzkrieg effort of 49 off just 23 deliveries and suddenly the equation was not so improbable after all. The J&J fielders were testy and nervous – nothing exemplified this more than a difficult catch at long on which the fielder not only misjudged but also sent the ball soaring over the ropes for a 6. As the scores galloped the noise from the Motilal camp became a cacophony but there was still one final twist left to the match. Just when the match seemed to be slipping from J&J’s grasp they managed to strike hard and fast – M Salvi bowled a fullish one which Deepak misjudged and was bowled with the score on 128. Followed by 2 quick wickets in the 14th over of Amit Dassani the captain and Darshit Zaveri (Motilal’s first match centurion) out for a duck and 3rdwicket of Vishal Shelar in the 15th over and Motilal was surely looking down the barrel with score at 143/7 in the 15th over and 43 runs to get in 14 deliveries. Mandar made a valiant effort including 3 huge sixes which offered some hope but a required rate of 3 runs per delivery was always going to be too much. Motilal eventually closed at 166/8 in 17 overs having made a valiant effort but always losing wickets at crucial moments and always looking at a mountain never a hill.
J&J were crowned the first KNIGHTS of the 2014-15 season while Motilal promised to be back the next time.
The man of the finals was an easy decision – Abhishek Angane (J&J) 113(51b) and 2/33.
Batsman of the Tournament – Mandar Poipkar (Motilal Oswal) – 147 runs in 4 completed innings
Bowler of the Tournament – M Salvi (J&J) – 7 wickets in 3 innings
Umpired by: Ajay Yadav & Ganesh Khapre
Scored by : Manjit Singh
Article courtesy – Ashutosh Goel from One world of Sports