Legends wins a nail-biting encounter against Titans
It is always good fun to watch two teams of similar strength fighting it out to decide who has the greater tenacity and resolve to hang in there and win a match when the circumstances are not favourable. Match 4 of CCL, between Legends and Titans, was a great advertisement for such kind of a game – fun to watch for all its twists and turns. Chasing a target of 89 in 10 overs, Legends defeated the Titans by 6 wickets.
Legends won the toss and their captain Mahadevan decided to field first on a hazy morning with dense mist in the air and moisture on the pitch. Sent into bat, Titans opened with Sumesh and Sujith and the intentions of the batsmen quickly came to the fore when Sumesh hit the second ball of the innings to a six across the square leg fence. Sujith also appeared to be in his zone as he quickly followed his opening partner in hitting six when he hoisted across the boundary an above-the-waist full toss by Latheesh. Though Sumesh fell quickly, Sujith partnered with Deepak to take the score forward. Both batsmen were good at picking singles and doubles and when the Legends offered them opportunities for the big hits they obliged them too. Wickets kept on tumbling at one end, but Sujith kept his end safe and remained unbeaten on 48 at the conclusion of the innings. In the allocated 10 overs, Titans made 88 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.
Legends started their innings calmly and the openers Mahadevan and Saleem made a cautious start. Titans struck first blow to the Legends by removing Mahadevan for a score of 12 runs. Latheesh went in next and gave good support to Saleem and the duo went on with their chase without making many reckless shots. When Latheesh’s wicket fell, Legends was in a precarious position as the required run rate was constantly climbing up. At the start of the penultimate over, the required run rate for Legends was a whopping 13.5. However Saleem slammed three sixes in the over and reduced runs required to 8 in the last over. Though Saleem lost his wicket in the final over, it was not before he hit a six and reduced the equation to 2 runs in 4 balls. Ajith stayed put at the batting end and Legends got 2 extras to grab a memorable win from the clutches of a probable loss.
Saleem was adjudged the Man of Match.
SCOREBOARD
