Media Release
Abu Dhabi, Dec 12: Gersan Elektrik Team MCC on November 20 clinched their first Karnataka League title beating Anib XI on top by one wicket in the KCL finals played at Skyline University thus ending a drought of near win defeats in the earlier two leagues.
The match, however, saw a similar trend of MCC losing wickets in heaps at the end bringing back horrific memories of the past knockout leagues, till Sandeep Poojary and Ajay Fernandes kept their composure to cross the line and win the title that evaded MCC for years.
Winning the toss, and deciding to field first, MCC had a perfect start with Ajay Fernandes bringing both the openers in the third over of the match. With Anib IX trying to accelerate, MCC kept the runs in check with Pradeep getting the third wicket of Nigel in the last ball of the powerplay overs. It was in the seventh over when MCC really stuck gold, with Satish Shetty getting Prashanth Braggs bowled cheaply of his very first ball with the score reeling at 54/4 in 7.1 overs.
Prasanna and Vikranth Shetty then played steadily to bring up a 64 run-partnership for the fifth wicket, till both got out trying to accelerate the innings, their score reaching 127/6 in 16.5 overs. With three overs left, Puneeth and Neville with some brisk running between the wickets, helped by some loose fielding and catching by MCC put up 169 on the board.
MCC had a disastrous start losing Asim Sheikh, who had been their top run-getter, in the very first over of the chase.
Rafeek and Shahir then put up an aggressive batting display for the second wicket scoring around 10 per over till Shahir got out for 41 of 23 balls with the score at 82 in 7.4 overs. Rafeek held one end up playing sensibly to bring up his fifty and partnerships of 27 and 21 with Thakiyuddeen and Yousuff Sheriff respectively. By the time Rafeek got out for a well made 57 of 39 balls, MCC with 131/4 needed just 39 in 39 balls with 6 wickets left.
The chase which now looked like a walk in the park saw one of the wildly chaotic batting collapses with MCC losing four wickets in 3 overs to find themselves at 156/8 in 17.4 overs. With 14 required off 14 balls and 2 wickets left, Ajay Fernandes nursing a hamstring injury joined Sandeep Poojary to score 11 runs off the 19th over. With only one to get of the last over, Sandeep sealed the win scoring the winnings runs of the second ball with no more hiccups- a win well-deserved for MCC having topped the group in the league stages and then displaying excellent cricket both with bat and ball in the knockout stages.
The post-match presentation was graced by the presence of the below dignitaries:
Hitamber Attavar, regional director - Gersan Elektrik: the official team sponsor of MCC for KCL Season 2
Sayyed Faisal Hussain, managing director - AutoDeal Automotive: team sponsor for MCC
Sukeesh Drawakish– son of Bungle Shama Rao Dwarakanath, better known as Dwarakish, Indian actor, director and producer in the Kannada film industry.
The winning trophy was presented by Sukeesh Drawkish to team MCC.
Brief history
Anib XI: 169/7 (Anib IX: Prasanna 47, Vikranth 33 / MCC: Ajay 3/34, Pradeep 2/31 , Satish 1/31 and Asim 1/16)
Gersan Elektrik MCC :170/8 (MCC: Rafeek 57, Shahir 41 and Sandeep 19 / Anib Xi: Keith Pinto 3/40 Nigel 2/37)
Top performers for MCC
Asim Sheikh: Most Valuable Player: 203 runs and 5 wickets
Ajay Fernandes: Best Bowler for MCC : 11 W Eco 6.61 & Man Of Match for Finals : Bowling 3/34
Mohammed Shahir: Best Batsman for MCC: 225 R, 2 x 50’s Avg 56.25, SR 137.20