The Avengers took on NSK in the opening match on Saturday, played in perfect cricket weather. NSK won the toss and chose to bat. Amit Sundly (16) and Sajawal Usto (20) put on 39 for the first wicket before Dhrummit Bhatt had Sajawal caught behind, then bowled Neelav Diwan next ball. Talha Riaz (13), captain Adeel Ilyas (36 with four sixes) and Arif (29) batted well to take the total to 139. The Avengers used eight bowlers, Dhrummit leading the way with 2/28.
Rahul Vashisht (23) and Praveen Manhas put on 40 for the first wicket in reply, but then was surprised by a short ball from Sajawal and was caught behind. Gurman Khurana (33) and Praveen took the total to 95 before Gurman was caught in the deep, but Praveen batted through the innings, hitting the winning runs and reaching his fifty with the winning boundary in the 16th over.
The Eagles and Tigers met in the second match. The Tigers batted first, and made 138, led by 26 from Abu Sayad, 24 from newcomer Anol Azad, and 21 from Lincon Hameed. The Eagles lost two early wickets but then a solid batting performance led by a 62 run 7th wicket partnership from Mohammed Zilani (35*) and Raheel Zaman (34*) took them to a 15 wicket win with 9 balls to spare.
We have some video from the Tigers innings.
