Daehan Smashers won this year’s edition of the Indonesian Cricket League (ICL), Indonesia’s premier franchise based T20 cricket tournament. They lifted the cup after comfortably beating Crickingdom Lions in the finals on Sunday.
Daehan Smashers were the most consistent side in the tournament having lost only 1 game and they stormed into the finals with a lot of confidence stemming from a team which had everyone contributing at crucial times. They were up against Crickingdom Lions who had a more mercurial tournament but seemed to peaking at the right time with their batting coming together well.
The Lions chose to bat first to capitalize on their recent batting form and despite losing their openers relatively early, started off in a blazing fashion. Viraj Bhammar & Gamantika Kadek were severe on some wayward bowling and they went into drinks with 81 runs on the board and eight wickets still in hand and looked all set for a total close to 200.
It needed the experience and guile of Kirubasankar to change the course of the game as he scalped the big wickets of both Gamantika and the dangerous Sampath Kumar in the 12th over, both caught at the deep having been tempted to go big. Kirubasankar then scored a direct hit from the Long off fence to get rid of the ominous looking Viraj Bhammar to cap off a great day in the field for him. The Lions eventually could only manage 140 in their 20 overs, atleast 40 short of what they looked like reaching at the halfway stage.
The Daehan Smashers reply was magnificently controlled by Gowtham Rajaram who mixed aggression with some smart running between the wickets and his 68 not out shepherded the Smashers to the target with 9 wickets still in hand. Gowtham had got good support from both Anjar Tadarus & Kirubasankar at the other end. Another game which saw Daehan Smashers prevailing due to a fantastic all-round effort and the ability to fight back from tough situations, both essentials for a champion team.
Indonesian national team veteran Anjar Tadarus swept home the individual awards claiming Best Batsman, Best Bowler & MVP trophies, a true testament to the all-round abilities of this champion. Gamantika Kadek also had a good tournament and was runners-up for the MVP.
The ICL was conceived as a platform to allow Indonesian players from across the archipelago to get a chance to both compete with and learn from the best and the fact that best two players of this year are both Indonesian players is a testament to the success of this objective, said William Noronha, the President of the Jakarta Cricket Association.
