With the sun dipping below the horizon, and the temperature falling to glacial levels, Gurman Khurana hit the 2nd ball of the final over over the head of mid-on to win the Super Smash tournament for Team Waqas Ali (Avengers), and bring Cricket NL’s 2020 competitive season to an end. The Avengers were made to work hard chasing a target of 63, set by the Stars, who had won a thrilling semi final to reach the final. Gurman made 20* and Rahul Vashishtha 29. Congratulations to all teams who took part, and thanks to Waqas Ali and Abdullah Khalid for coming up with the idea of the tournament. We were delighted to have Waqas Ali at the field, recovering well from his recent accident.
Rahul Vashistha won the Sachin Tendulkar award (best batsman) and Mohamed Ruyel the Wasim Akram award for best bowler.
The Super Smash Tournament got underway on a cool but clear morning, with the Stars taking on the Volts. Imran Ahmed soon heated up the ground with a sizzling 68 from just 32 balls, with 5 sixes, putting on 106 for the first wicket with Junayed Tushar (27). Jawadur Rahman (3 wickets) and Ainul Alam (2 wickets) struck back for the Volts, as the Stars made 113/5. This proved too much for the Volts who were unable to sustain the 14 runs/ over rate, making 67/3.
The second match turned out to be one sided, largely due to an exceptional bowling performance from M Ruyel, taking 4/5 in his 2 overs, as the Hurricanes bowled out the Royal Challengers for just 21. The Hurricanes knocked off the runs in 2.2 overs.
Team Waqas Ali (Avengers) beat Lions by 37 runs to make their way to the semi finals, led by 68 from Rahul Vashishtha.
In the final first round match, The St. John’s Panthers beat Avalon CC by 4 wickets, after restricting them to 55/5.
In the plate competition, Avalon CC beat Lions by 5 wickets, to meet the Royal Challengers who won by a similar margin over the Volts.
Arif Shaikh led Avalon CC to the plate championship, taking 4/28 as Royal Challengers totalled 75, then making 24 as his team won in 5 overs without losing a wicket- a fine performance from a group of players, most of which did not play in Summer League.
Perhaps the best match of the tournament was the semi-final between the Stars and Hurricanes. The Hurricanes posted 89/4, led by 45 from Arafat al Nabi, and the Stars went into the final over needing 9 runs with only two wickets left. They need five off the last two balls when captain Irtiza Dar hit a six over mid-on to take them to the final.
Team Waqas Ali chased down 70 in the other semi final, a fine innings by Aakash Singh taking them to a last over win.
Cricket Newfoundland and Labrador has committed to contribute any profit from the tournament to assist our friend Waqas Ali as he recovers from a serious accident.
