The Cricket NL outdoor season came to an emphatic end as Royal Challengers captain Manvir Mann hit the last ball of the 19th over for 6 and a 5-wicket win, earning them the Herringshaw-Liverman Cup. Earlier the Avengers claimed the Saini Cup, winning the best of 3 series over NSK 2-0.
Both games were played in excellent weather, and the decision to postpone the finals from last week was a good one. The Avengers batted first in the second game of the Saini Cup between 1st and 2nd placed teams and made 155. Gurman Khurana top-scored with 42, Rahul Vashishtha made 35, and Maanik Arora 32. After a poor start, Nick Baxter (37) and Rakesh Negi (32) put on 63, and the game was in the balance until Madhu Bandara dismissed them both in a single over. He finished with 3/19 and was named man of the match as the Avengers won comfortably earning them their 5th successive Saini Cup.
The Herringshaw-Liverman Cup displayed two excellent performances by the bowlers. The Eagles scored slowly against tight bowling from Mukul Dhawan and in particular Ranvir Rana (2/9 from 4 overs). They were indebted to Waqas Ali (19) and Abdul Rafeh (21) who put on 40 runs for the 8th wicket to take the Eagles to 133/8 from their 20 overs (extras were top scorer with 28)
The Eagles also bowled well, but Tendai Mudunge and Aryan Falke put on 41 for the first wicket. An excellent spell from Osama Saeed seemed to have turned the game in the Eagles favour- he took 4/9 in his 4 overs, and had Mukul Dhawan dropped in his final over. This proved crucial; Mukul hit four boundaries in his 30 not out, and helped by Manvir Mann (18* with two sixes) took the Royal Challengers to their first outdoor trophy.
Herringshaw Cup video
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Part 7
