After a break of almost two years, the BCF long format league
officially started last Sunday. Skipper Vikram won the toss and elected to bat
first on a track where everyone thought at least 250 runs are required to
defend. Girish and James opened the innings for OCC. The Mechelen opening
bowlers were disciplined with their line and length, making it difficult for
the OCC batsmen to score freely in the Powerplay. In return, they got awarded
the first wicket of Girish in the fifth over when he tried to repeat the sweep
shot that earned him a six earlier. Joost walked in and played some strong
shots, which included four fluent boundaries. However, the first change bowler
Omarkhel was angling the ball well across the batsmen, getting it to cut away
sharply and beating the face of the bat with extra bounce. He got Joost out at
a backward point. Vikram walked in and tried building up a partnership with
James. Vikram was able to hit two crisp boundaries against Omarkhel, just after
the first drinks break, Omarkhel had the last laugh and edged one to the
keeper. OCC stood 67/3 after 17 overs. Tony and James continued to rotate the
strike. When the nerves were settling, and both batsmen were looking set, the
leg spinner Maiwand broke the steady partnership in the 25th over. Shiv joined
in James, who was holding one end for OCC. Shiv and James looked to steady the
ship, and they set about leading OCC's recovery. The duo batted intelligently
without taking any undue risks and took OCC past the 150 mark in 34 overs. Both
played well by rotating the strike and hitting the boundaries on the loose
balls. In quick succession, the pair added 81 runs partnership. While playing
run against the ball, Shiv scooped a catch to square leg on 41 runs. Trying to
accelerate, James also got out in 42nd over after playing a very patient knock
of 54 runs off 104 balls. Trying to steal an extra run William got run out cheaply,
and then debutant Jatin Madan walked in. He did what he does best, scoring a
quick-fire 22 runs off 23 balls with three fours showing his range hitting. An
unfortunate runout had him back in the hut. The OCC were all out on 243 runs
with some good hitting from Jatin and Atif towards the end.
It was then the turn of the OCC bowlers to carry on the
excellent work displayed by the Mechelen seamers. Vikram handed the new ball to
Atif and William, who started a brilliant spell for OCC. In his first four overs,
William took three wickets and reduced Mechelen Eagle to 17 for three after 7.1
overs. Debutant Jatin Madan also chipped in with bowling by taking his first
wicket for OCC in the 11th over. However, Mechelen Eagles’ batters steadied the
73 runs partnership for the 5th wicket. As they were looking to threaten, Atif
removed Tejpal on 44 runs. OCC continued taking wickets in intervals.
Mechelen's every batter contributed and put on small partnerships with Omarkhel
to keep ticking the scoreboard against the target. As the seventh wicket fell,
Shakerullah joined Omarkhel. Omarkhel was playing a probable match-winning
knock for Mechelen. Shakerullah minted 25 runs in the 39th over. He took them
closer to the target with just 11 runs needed in 11 overs. Easy right? Well
“The game is not over until it’s over”. The captain summoned William to deliver
a magical spell, and he delivered with just that! As he firstly removed six
hitting Shakerullah on 29th. Mechelen were still confident as they were
cruising for the target, afterall they needed just three runs in 9 overs.
William again bowled extraordinary well and took two consecutive wickets.
Ultimately he ended up with 6 wickets and it was a super match winning effort.
Phew! OCC had done it again against Mechelen, with memories of a
similar last wicket encounter last year against same rivals jogged back. It was
a stunning collapse, a superb bowling effort by OCC. Many thanks to the
spectators who supported the 1st XI during this nail-biting encounter!