June 18 saw just one match, the Avengers beating the MHWirth Stallions by 59 runs in classic Newfoundland cricket conditions- 7 degrees, wind and occasional drizzle and an un-mown outfield made conditions tough for everyone (our cricketing friends across the country had quite different weather- 23 degrees in Halifax, 30 in Montreal and Toronto, and only a modest 18 degrees in Calgary).

The Stallions won the toss and chose to bowl, a decision that seemed to be vindicated when Talha Riaz bowled Senthill with the second ball of the match. Rahul Vashishtha hit the third ball of the match for 6 over mid-off, setting the scene for an outstanding innings. When he was out in the 13th over, he had made 89 out of 114, from 44 balls with three fours and eleven sixes, most of them in the arc between mid on and mid off. He was well caught by Kranthi Kumar at deep mid wicket, one of three catches from Kranthi on a day when numerous catches went down- quite understandable given the temperature and cold hands. Barath Shetty batted well for 22, and the final total of 155/ 9 looked a good one. Talha Riaz was the outstanding bowler with 5/19 from four overs, well supported by Rakesh Negi (4-1-14-1), and Neelav Diwan (4-0-16-1).

In reply the Stallions made a steady start, but tight bowling, backed by excellent ground fielding saw them fall behind the run rate. Three run outs resulted from direct hits, two from Gurman Khurana, and one from Saravana Kumar. Saad Jahangir top scored with 26, and Kranthi Kumar made 16. The Avengers used 8 bowlers, with Saravana leading the way with 3/11, Dhrumitt Bhatt taking 1/11 from 3, and Samaa Madhawa 1/12 from 3.

Rahul Vashishtha was an obvious choice for man of the match.

Scorecard (note that Sadman Amin made 5 and Purvi Kalyan 1 not out- they were inadvertently switched in the card).