In the first game the NL Champions 122/6 beat the St. John’s SuperKings 120/7 by 4 wickets; Kamal named man of the match for his economical bowling and 33*- scorecard and match report follows. The St. John’s Superkings made 120 again in the second match, Prateek making 35 and Alex 20. The Thunderboltz chased down the total with 2 wickets and 2 overs to spare, thanks to 42 from KK and 25 from Kathir.

Match report
The superb St. John’s summer produced yet another perfect day for cricket this Sunday, with sunny skies, warm temperatures, and a light breeze. The opening match was between the Superkings and the NL Champions. Neither team was at full strength, due to departures, injuries and exams, so the game featured some of the “irregulars”. Kathir, needing as much practice as possible played as a guest with the Superkings, who also included a graduate from the beginners group, Mark Russell.
The Superkings batted first, and it was good to see Kavish back on the field after his long lay-off following a broken leg. He was in fine form, especially considering his lack of match practice, with a well-timed boundary in the first over being followed by a massive six into the Republic of Doyle parking area at square leg. Fortunately Alan Hawco’s GTO was not there, otherwise the Association might have been faced with an expensive law-suit for damages. He hit three sixes in all, but lost his opening partner Saad after negotiations failed to reach agreement on the merits of a run to point. Luftor’s smart return left Saad short of his crease.
Asim joined Kavish, and played steadily, and the Superkings looked set for a big score. Kavish was contained by some tight bowling and eventually was bowled for 33 by Suresh, trying for a big hit. Asim (21), trying to push the scoring rate, skied a drive to long-on where Shaifan put the chance down, but fired in a superb throw to run out Asim at the bowler’s end. Alex was caught at mid-on, but the Superkings now had Sentill and Kathir at the wicket with five overs to go. The game turned when Sentill hit Shakeel powerfully to deep mid-wicket. It looked like a certain boundary, but Moula pulled off a magnificent catch, running to his right, and diving to take the ball with both hands inches off the ground.
Prateek didn’t trouble the scorers, but Negi came in to try his injured knee. He struggled to run but was looking to reach the boundary, only to be bowled by Kamal. Kathir made some excellent shots in his 25, and Mark Russell contributed an unbeaten three in his first match. The final total was 120 for 7- it could easily have been more but some excellent bowling in the middle overs by Kamal (4-0-15-1), Suresh (4-1-11-3) and Shaifan (4-0-17-0) kept it within reach.
Goam Moula looked to be continuing right on from his unbeaten century last week when he hit Sentill to long on with ease in the first over. However he tried to repeat the shot off Nikunj in the next over and picked out Kathir who took the catch. This brought in Gurman who was in excellent touch. He made a fine 42, taking boundaries from the opening bowlers and then playing steadily to keep the score ticking over at nearly 10/ over. Abbas kept him company through the 10th over but Kavish had him well caught at the third attempt by Negi at slip. When Ayaz and Shaifan fell to consecutive deliveries from Prateek, and then Gurman was well caught by Asim, it looked as though the game had swung back to the Superkings. There was close to 30 still needed at this point, with 5 wickets down. The run rate required however was only 4-5/ over thanks to the rapid start, and Kamal was finding his touch. Dave Liverman, playing his first competitive match in 24 years, kept him company. They were able to keep Kathir out, who bowled his 4 overs for just 9 runs. Rakesh tried to bowl but was unable to complete his over after a single ball showed his knee was not up to it. Dave worked Nikunj to long leg for a boundary before being run out, but Kamal went for his shots, finishing the match with his second six, well over long-on. He finished on 31 not out, and combined with his excellent bowling, earnhim the man of the match award, although Kavish (33 and 2/18), Gurman (42, and solid work behind the stumps) Kathir (25* and 4 overs for 9 runs) were strong contenders.

Newfoundland 20-20 League 2012
NL Champions vs St. John’s Superkings
RCAF Field, Torbay
29 July 2012

Result: NL Champions won by 4 wickets

Toss:

St. John’s Superkings innings
Kavish Srivastava b Suresh 33
+Saad Jhangir run out (Luftor Rahman) 1
Asim Kamran run out (Shaifan Ahmed) 21
Alex Dias c Anuj b Suresh 1
Senthill Selvamani c Golam Moula b Shakeel 3
K Chenthilnathan not out 25
Prateek Dongare b Suresh 0
*Rakesh Negi b Kamal 7
Mark Russell not out 3
Extras (b 1, lb 2, nb 2, w 22) 27
Total (7 wickets, 20 overs) 120

DNB: Nikunj Saxena

FoW: ?

Bowling O M R W
Ayaz Ghani 3 0 14 0
Abbas Haider 2 0 20 0
Shaifan Ahmed 4 0 17 0
Kamal 4 0 15 1
Suresh 4 1 11 3
Shakeel 3 0 13 1

NL Champions innings
*Golam Moula c Chenthilnathan b Saxena 6
Abbas Haider c Negi b Srivastava 3
+Gurman Khurana c Asim Kamran b Srivastava 42
Ayaz Ghani c Saad b Dongare 4
Shaifan Ahmed b Dongare 0
Kamal not out 31
David Liverman run out 12
Luftor Rahman not out 0
Extras (b 4, lb 2, nb 3, w 11) 20
Total (6 wickets, 17.2 overs) 122

DNB: Suresh, Anuj, Shakeel

Bowling O M R W
Selvamani 4 0 28 0
Saxena 2.2 0 25 1
Srivastava 3 1 18 2
Dongare 3.5 0 14 2
Chenthilnathan 4 0 9 0
Negi 0 0 1 0

*** K Chenthilnathan of the Thunderboltz was playing for the Superkings as a guest

Newfoundland 20-20 League 2012
Thunderboltz vs St. John’s Superkings
RCAF Field, Torbay
29 July 2012

Result: Thunderboltz won by 2 wickets

Toss:

Umpires: Gurman Khurana, Golam Maula

St. John’s Superkings innings
Kavish Srivastava c Chenthilnathan b Kulkarni 2
Saad Jhangir c Pawan b Pushpinder 0
Asim Kamran c & b Tapan 10
Jack c K Kumar b Pushpinder 2
Senthill Selvamani c Tapan b Paul 7
Kamal lbw b Paul 5
*Rakesh Negi b S Kumar 4
Prateek Dongare run out 22
+Alex Dias b Paul 19
Mark Russell not out 2
Extras (b 7, lb 2, nb 8, w 30) 47
Total (9 wickets, 20 overs) 120

DNB: Nikunj Saxena

FoW: ?

Bowling O M R W
Pawan 4 0 21 0
Kulkarni 4 0 20 1
Tapan 3 0 24 1
Pushpinder 3 0 14 1
Paul 1 0 16 2
S Kumar 1 0 7 1
Chenthilnathan 4 1 8 0

Thunderboltz innings
Kaivallya Kulkarni c ? b Dongare 42
Saravana Kumar lbw b Kamal 0
Eldho Paul lbw b Selvamani 8
+Kranthi Kumar b Asim Kamran 5
Pushpender c ? b Dongare 1
*K Chenthilnathan not out 25
Papan c & b Saxena 5
Darshak lbw b Saxena 1
Pawan b Selvamani 4
Kansai not out 5
Extras (b 10, w 15) 25
Total (8 wickets, 17.1 overs) 121

DNB: tapan

FoW: ?

Bowling O M R W
Srivastava 3 0 22 0
Kamal 2 0 15 1
Selvamani 3.1 0 17 1
Dongare 3 0 23 2
Asim Kamran 2 1 6 0
Saxena 4 0 12 2