League Match 18: Aliens vs Mask Cricket Club
The last league game of the season
Keenly awaited contest was this the game between us Aliens CC and MASK CC. We had to win, to stay in the hunt for promotion to division 1. Aliens stand-in skipper David won the toss and elected to bat on a cold afternoon. By the end of the 9th over, three quick wickets had fallen and the Aliens score read 37. It was still not all “done and dusted” for Aliens as the ever-dependable Damon was still to bat. He did his reputation no harm, as he played one of the finest innings of the season, ably supported by Harjinder “Harry” Singh, for an unbeaten 69, with the latter contributing with 27. The Aliens innings ended on 152 with our former premier league referee French-cutting his way to 13.
The chase began in the favour of Aliens, as Mark scalped the opener for 1 with a perfect outswinger. Soon Achal’s brilliance in the field reduced the visiting side to 8/2 by the 3rd over. What followed next was exceptional fightback by the MASK middle order batsmen, aided by some sloppy Aliens fielding (just me :P). By the time Damon had Falak trapped in front, the MASK were in with a shout with the score reading 72 in 12 overs. MASK batsmen kept on accumulating until the reintroduction of Harry into the attack, which alongside David’s and Damon’s spell helped Aliens grab a very close win. These are the games you wanna be a part of. Aliens finished 3rd on the table for the season, a highly commendable outcome for the club, but could have easily grabbed the championship, alas for that Stromso game where we lost by 2 wickets.