A full-strength WISCI Wanderers chose to bat first against the recently promoted Metro Indians in the 35 over encounter at the Cibubur Ground. Some wayward bowling (26 wides) and a Gaurav Tiwari blitzkrieg (120 of just 73 balls) saw WISCI get off to a flyer. When Govind Sodani (21) got out, the score was a healthy 60 of just 8 overs. Gaurav, who is working hard on his planks & head-stands, was blanking out the bowling and virtually carrying the innings on his, now-stronger than ever shoulders. Sakthi Narayanan (3/20) bowled very well and even managed 2 maiden overs amidst all this onslaught. When Anthony John (3/53) finally got Gaurav caught behind, WISCI was still looking a huge score. However, the last 5 wickets fell for just 40 runs leaving Metro Indians to chase 236 to win.

 

The thrifty David Holme, helped Deepak Singh (3/45) at the other end, pick up wickets regularly, and when he got rid of the dangerous Kirubasankar cheaply, the match was virtually over. Govind Sodani (2/11) unraveled the middle order and Gaurav Tiwari (2/10) wrapped up the tail to give the current holders a big win. Prabhukaliraj (23) & Sabu Joy (19) were the only scorers of substance for Metro Indians.

 

Fez Rebels travelled to Purwakarta to take on the home team Indorama CC in the second 35 over game of the weekend. When Warwick Peters (53) & Corbon Loughnan (48) put on a 98 run partnership for the opening wicket, memories of their 225 run unbeaten partnership in the season opener last year, were revived. Ashish Khaitan (3/30) beat Corbon in the air to have him playing on & setting in motion, a very familiar Fez Rebels middle order collapse. The young Rohan Rajpal (4/3) then came on to make a mess of the tail and Fez Rebels folded up on 135, losing 10 wickets for just 37 runs.

 

In reply, Fez Rebels thought they had a chance, when Corbon Loughnan (2/19) & Steve Barber (1/33) took a few early wickets. But a calculated counter-attacking reply, first by the experienced R. Srikkanth (18) & later by man of the match, Abhishek Sharma (41), ensured that Indorama CC won comfortably with 5 wickets and more than 14 overs to spare & also enabled an early return back to Jakarta for Fez Rebels.

 

Challengers CC gambit to open with a spinner failed as Dilip Udayshankar (54) went on a rampage, especially picking on Vimal Nair. Satheesh Kumar (2/24) fought back with a few wickets and when Manickavasagan (2/22) & Satinder Minhas (2/29) got rid of the middle order, Emerio CC was looking in some trouble. The ever reliable pair of Maneesh Dubey (44no) & Karthigai (18no) then put on an unbeaten 53 run partnership to guide Emerio CC to a strong 142/7 in 20 overs. A tight opening spell by David Surjit & a penetrative spell by Sujoy Saha (3/17) with help from Maneesh Dubey (2/27) ensured that Challengers CC never looked in the hunt, despite good knocks by Sidhu (23) & Satinder Minhas (26no).

 

WPP India XI’s experienced duo of Kishore Gunwani (2/17) & Dhiraj Nagpal (1/12) kept things very tight & when Jakarta Barbarians wanted to increase the scoring rate, wickets fell regularly to Gaurang (2/32) & others. Ben Burgess (53no) carried his bat through the innings, but received support only from Vivek Nair (23). So, tight bowling had ensured that Jakarta Barbarians could only manage 116/7 in their 20 overs. Rahul Pagad (58) & Ajay Kurtkoti (32) then put on a 93 run stand in quick time to take WPP India XI comfortably home with 7 wickets & 5 overs to spare.