Vimal Hansraj’s 20 ball 55* helps Arch Mavericks win the finals of the AT20 Championship Tournament

By Cricketgraph Reporter Last updated Jun 21, 2017

Vimal Hansraj (Arch Mavericks Team) not out 55 runs in 20 balls 4 fours and 5 sixes

The Final of the AT20 Championship Trophy saw the 2 best sides of the tournament face off against each other. SKK mavericks had been unbeaten thru the tournament while Sankalpan had only dropped one game in the Super 8 stage and that too due to the brilliance of Shahen Mistry from Dynamites. A difficult match to pick even though punters would probably favor SKK mavericks just a tad more than Sankalpan simply due to their overall strength and all round performance.

SKK Mavericks called correctly at the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a wicket they felt would slow down as the match progressed and give their finger spinners a better chance in defending a total.

However as the match began, this decision started looking dicey as the Sankalpan pace squad exploited the early morning conditions to full effect – getting pace and seam to bog down the openers to a slow start – 32 at the end of 5 overs was possibly the slowest start SKK had got off to in this tournament.

Samrat the captain introduced himself as 1^st change and straight away claimed the scalp of the Leading batsmen of the tournament – Sumit Nigade – out to an uppish stroke to a ball which held back. Sankalpan had claimed their most prized wicket for a measly 15. From their on the going was painfully slow as Pranay the captain and Karan Malushte set about building a foundation. At the end of 10 overs the score read 69/1 and Sankalpan had probably won Round 1 of this battle.

The 2 batsmen then decided to accelerate gently but in doing so the wickets also started falling with a wicket falling in overs 14,15,17 and 18 leaving the SKK Mavericks on a less than happy total of 130/5 and with just 12 balls to be bowled. At this stage a total of 150 was looking optimistic and there was a spring in the step of the Sankalpan bowlers. However no one had accounted for Vimal Hansraj who had walked in at No.5 and barely taken any strike. The last 12 balls fetched the following notings on the scorecard – 1,4,6,2,1,2, 2,4,6,4,6,6. The score at the end of 20 overs read 174/5 – Vimal Hansraj was unbeaten on 55*(20, 4×4, 5×6) and suddenly Sankalpan was staring down the barrel

Sankalpan started their response in earnest with all eyes on their best player Samrat. After a rapid start they lost Jinesh Mistry in the 6^th over but then Ronith and Samrat got down to business keeping the score rolling steadily without any risks. At the 10^th over the score mirrored the 1^st innings – 69/1 but by the 15^th over the score had moved on to 103 and suddenly 72 of 5 overs was not so difficult after all with just 1 wicket lost and 2 batsman in superb nick at the crease. A 6 and a 4 off the first 2 balls of over no.16 and the battle was well and truly joined. However Ronith against the run of play, was caught out immediately after, probably overplaying the shot and the SKK mavericks team which had till then being despairing, got their spring back. The fielding was once again attacking and the bowler bowling with renewed purpose – the match was still 55:45 in SKK ‘s favor but with Samrat at the crease, one could not rest easy. However, Sankalpan just could not get going again from there and wickets in every over (save the 19^th) from thereon saw the wheels come off and the innings complete at 140/7 to give the SKK Mavericks the match and the championship. The difference was 34 runs but the match was far closer than the scorecard may suggest – the real difference in both innings came only in the last 5 overs. One could say that Sankalpan won the battle in both innings in the first 15 overs but the was was won by SKK Mavericks in the last 5 overs of both innings.

Winner Team Arch Mavericks Team in AT20 Champions Trophy 2016-17

The prize ceremony saw all the sponsors gather together to hand out the awards to the deserving recipients – the 5^th edition of the AT20 was possibly also it’s most memorable.

The man of the match was a difficult one to select and in the end it was awarded jointly to Vimal Hansraj (SKK) for his match changing innings of 55* and Samrat Nakhwa (Sankalpan) for his valiant 62 runs and 3 wickets.