CCL5 – A Cliffhanger of a Match Ends in a Tie

The cricket match between SRT XI and Fiery Fighters, which was the de facto semi-final of CCL5, ended in a magnificent tie. Needing 100 runs to win from their 10 overs, Fiery Fighters ended up exactly one short of the target. Based on a better run rate, SRT XI entered the finals of CCL5, where they will meet the Eagles tomorrow for the first final.

Though it was only a league match, the match was to decide who will enter the finals of CCL5. Therefore both teams put in their best efforts towards achieving their goal. SRT XI opened with Saleem and Ajeesh and they started the innings in a cautious manner. They made slow progress but were not averse to punishing bad balls by sending them to the boundary. After the fall of Ajeesh, Saleem partnered with Sumesh, Aneesh and Ajith and took the innings forward. During his unbeaten innings, Saleem went past yet another 50 in the series, which included many fours and sixes. In their allocated 10 overs, SRT XI made 99 runs, leaving the Fiery Fighters to score exactly 100 to win the match.

The Fiery Fighters started the chase quite confidently with their big hitters Mahadevan and Sujith opening the innings. They never panicked and made runs steadily, finding fours and sixes in between. The openers never allowed the required run rate to climb beyond the achievable height. Once Mahadevan got out, Sujith partnered with Gopalan Marimuthu and drove the team towards the target. Sujith was at his batting best, when he hit all the bowlers to all parts of the ground. In the penultimate over Sujith was dismissed by Sumesh and that turned the match on its head. Fiery Fighters, who were cruising along to a victory was jolted by this dismissal. Ranjith E tried his best to take his team to the finishing line, but was caught brilliantly at mid wicket by Ajeesh. Fiery Fighters had to take 3 runs from the final ball and they were able to take only 2 runs.

Saleem was adjudged Man of the Match.