Despite rain forecasts and the long drive, our 1st XI met on time in Gent ready for action at the ground of Arcadians. The pitch looked good and skipper Saransh Kulshrestha opted to field which was soon to prove a wise decision. Within minutes, Atif Kamal had reduced the hosts to 3 for 3 bowling with pace and lift. He was well supported by the in-form Mohit Dixit and our opening bowlers dominated. Arcadians looked clueless and were soon 19 for 6 off 10 overs with our boys feeling that the long drive was worth it to see this display. Atif would finish his 7 overs with 6 wickets for 19 and Mohit equally impressive with 8 overs for just 7 runs and 1 wicket. Only the tailenders offered any real resistance but a smart stumping by William Cope off Luka Galliver ending the innings at 72 all out with Murali Ravichandran taking 3 good catches in the field.
Lunch had not yet arrived, so a quick turnaround was wise to avoid any risk of rain. In the reply, Girish Venkatesh impressed with 32 supported well by William Cope but it was the skipper and Ananth Srisailapathy at the end to secure a comfortable 6 wicket win with over 30 overs still to spare. This impressive display was an all round effort which sets a standard for away trips to come. Perhaps more importantly, Gent Arcadians have to somehow lift themselves to travel to Luxembourg next weekend. All in all, a good away win, considering the bad weather around so our 1st XI remain unbeaten in the defence of the BCF Division 2 title.