Sanket’s Effort goes in vain as Airtel One defeat Citi Bank to lift Dreamz T 20 Corporate Trophy
Venue: National Cricket Ground,Cross Maidan(Plot no 9) Mumbai | Match Scorecard | Tournament Details
Airtel One had yet another lucky day in yet another low scoring encounter. Only difference- This time it was a final. All they had to do was get past Citi Bank’s all-rounder and man of the match Sanket who everything right on the day but still couldn’t win his team the title. As a result Airtel One defeated Citi Bank by just 2 wickets but with more than 3 overs to spare to emerge as champions of Dreamz T20 Corporate Trophy – Elite Group.
In an all-important final, Citi Bank won the toss and opted to bat first. They had worst of starts as opener Sweekar went for a duck on the second ball of the match. Runs were not easy to come by as the second and third wicket fell in the 5th over with just 14 on the board. In walked Sanket who completely turned around the innings single handed with a sparkling 85 of just 56 balls smashing 8 boundaries and 5 maximums in the process. But like the top three batsmen he did not get any real support from other batsmen as Citi Bank could score only 130 in their allotted 20 overs. Not a safe total in a final! There were as many as 3 run outs in the innings. Airtel’s best bowler was Arif who in his devastating opening spell scalped two wickets and gave away just 11 runs.
Airtel One had an upper hand after the first innings but as they say, cricket is a game of uncertainties. The match is not won until the last ball is bowled, or the last run is scored. Airtel were off to a flying start as openers Mayank and Jitesh took the score past fifty in just 26 balls. Kalpesh joined the party soon and by the 10th over the score had already crossed the 80 mark. There was a bit of threat from Citi Bank bowlers in the next few overs as Airtel lost 4 quick wickets. The run rate was not a problem but wickets were. No. 9 Javed and No. 10 Vishal struck some lusty blows towards the end and avoided any kind of turnaround from Citi Bank.
It was a spirited bowling effort from Citi Bank but Airtel’s top three had taken the game
away from them in the very beginning. Also it was their batting that let them down. Nevertheless, both teams played with good spirit and ended the tournament on a high. One team had to win and it was Airtel who emerged as deserving winners. Airtel’s Kalpesh Mehta was adjudged Man of the Series.
Brief Score:
Citi Bank: 130/7 in 20 overs (Sanket 85, Arif 2/11)
Airtel One: 136/8 in 16.4 overs (Mayank 33, Jitesh 26, Sanket 2/16)
Match Report By:
Sumanyu Jain| Regional Manager & Editor| CricketGraph