Garuda Gentlemen, a team fully comprised of Indonesian players, many of whom play for the national team, emerged deserving winners of the 2017 edition of the JCA T20 tournament after defeating a strong WPP India XI side in the finals played at the Cibubur Cricket ground on Sunday.
The tremendous resolve and ability to fight-back from tough situations, that the Garudas demonstrated in their win, would stand them in good stead as they move on to competing in even bigger tournaments on the international stage.
After winning the toss & choosing to bat first, the Garudas were rocked early as two wickets fell for just 11 runs but their 3 senior-most batsmen, then stepped-up on this big occasion. The skipper Gamantika batted very sensibly as he superbly anchored partnerships, first with Anjar Tadarus and then, with Ahmad Ramdoni to first, stage a recovery and then accelerate as the Garudas finished with a competitive 154 runs in 20 overs. Mukesh Khetan was WPP India XI’s best bowler on the day while Rahul Pagad shone on the field with some good catching and a brilliant direct-hit, runout from the boundary.
WPP India XI, who had till then, remained unbeaten in the tournament thanks to their batting strength, would have fancied their chances of chasing the total down. Despite losing Naidu early, the in-form Gaurav Pathak & Rahul Pagad then came together in an aggressive 70 run stand and at the 10 over mark, the Garudas were definitely worried. A tremendous, fighting, bowling partnership between Kisawa & Anjar Tadarus then put the screws on the WPP scoring and in the end, they fell short by 21 runs despite having 4 wickets in hand. “We have been striving for consistency & also working hard on the mental aspect of our game. Delighted that this paid off for us today†said Gamantika, the Garudas skipper and Player of the finals.
Thanks to S. Gopalakrishnan & Suresh Subramanian for umpiring the game
