The men's final was a hard fought battle between NY Tigers and NJ Lions. The match was officiated by the PA team members, Bhupender and Rohan were the umpires and Kedar was the scorer. NJ won the toss and elected to bat. All the previous matches in the day were won by teams batting first, so one could say NJ started the match with a slight advantage. 

 

Tarun and Deepak opened the innings for NJ and Kunal was the strike bowler. Kunal and Ruchir bowled an accurate off-stump line in the first two overs to restrict the run flow. Ruchir claimed Tarun's prize wicket on the last ball of the second over. Samar was the new man in and he did what he does best, went for some wild baseball swings but on this occasion did not connect well. The bowlers had figured out his style and kept him guessing. He finally fell to Vijay for 4 runs. The NY bowlers continued to execute their Captain's strategy to perfection in the first 4 overs. The NJ score line was crawling with just 12 runs in 4 overs at the loss of 2 wickets.

 

Next came Nitin and Sanjay (the best batsman of the tournament) and they steadied the innings for NJ and improved the run rate with some clean hitting and good running between the wickets. Nitin hit two big fours while Sanjay rotated the strike and hit a big four as well. They put together a 21 run partnership and NJ was cruising along. But Vijay, the best bowler of the tournament, had different plans. He got both Nitin and Sanjay out in his second over and put NY back in the game. Nitin was run out for 11 to a close call which was disputed by some from outside the ground :) But the main Umpire was the best judge as he was next to the stumps, so there’s no doubting that call. 

 

Things went awry for NJ as the middle order stumbled again with both the new batsmen Mahender and Ramesh falling to Pritam in the next over. Pritam was definitely showing his skills with the ball and proving to be a handy all-rounder. NJ had lost four quick wickets in 2 overs and was reeling at 40 runs for 6 wickets. Alas came the saviors, Lalit and Surendra. Lalit started with a big six over the deep square leg followed by a four and NJ camp started breathing again. He did the big hitting and Surendra lent him good support. They ended with 21 runs in last 3 overs to give NJ a defendable total of 61 runs in 10 overs. Lalit played a small Captain's knock and top scored with 15 runs.

 

NY was chasing 62 runs in 10 overs against a balanced bowling attack. It would require a decent effort from NY as the NJ bowlers had conceded only 51 and 59 runs in their previous two matches. NY shuffled their batting lineup and sent one of their big hitter Gopal to open with Sid. They were off to a good start scoring 7 runs in the first over. But then Sanjay struck in the second over and Gopal was caught at deep square leg by Ramesh. NY sent in their biggest hitter Vijay (who was also awarded the Sledgehammer) to keep the score moving. Looking at this tactic, the NJ captain Lalit brought in their in-form pace bowler Surendra Patwal. 

 

True to the promise Surendra struck the big blow and got Vijay out caught for a duck! Everyone in the NJ camp was ecstatic. But Surendra was not done yet, he had saved the best for the next ball. Everyone was about to experience the best catch of the tournament and maybe for some the best catch live. He bowled a good length delivery to Sid, the man in-form and Sid lobbed it high in the air over the bowler's head. Although difficult, Surendra went for the catch, he ran backwards a few yards keeping his eyes on the ball and when the ball was close he tripped and fell backwards but did not lose sight of the ball till the end. He caught a brilliant one while falling backwards in mid air! 

 

But as he fell on his back his head flipped backwards and hit the ground hard and Surendra suffered a mild concussion. He was given the due attention by all the players and walked out of the ground and rested. Surendra was brave enough to come back and bowl his remaining quota of two overs to help his team when it needed him the most. He is a perfect example of a true sportsman, only for the love of the game! All the NJ Lions thank him for his efforts and wish him well and a quick recovery. Incidentally, Surendra did suffer a mild concussion and does not remember the excellent catch he took and the important over he bowled. This over changed the game. Hopefully, this description will help him enjoy his performance.

 

Pritam Dimri, the main NY batsman kept most of the strike for the next two overs and kept the scoreboard ticking at a decent pace. NJ persisted with Sanjay in the sixth over and he delivered the much needed blow. He clean bowled both Atul and Anup (Captain of NY) in the last over of his spell. Kunal, the only left-handed batsman of the tournament was the next man in. He and Pritam played a good cameo for the next few overs, taking singles and rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard moving. The match progressed towards a close finish as NY needed 10 runs in the last over.

 

As the NJ strike bowler was about to start the last over there was more drama. NJ had made a big mis-calculation. They forgot the rule that only two bowlers could bowl a max of 3 overs. They left their strike bowler, Mahender for the last one thinking he had another (3rd over) over to go but their other two bowlers Surendra and Sanjay had already bowled three each. The NY camp thought NJ players were trying to pull a fast one on them by bringing in the strike bowler as they already knew he was ruled out. But it wasn't the case. The strike bowler was promptly replaced and Ramesh was asked to step up to the plate and bowl the most important over of the tournament. And we all know what happened. Ramesh conceeded 2 runs in the first two balls and got Kunal out on the third. Fourth one went for a single and NY needed 7 runs in 2 balls. The big man Pritam was on strike so it was anyone's game. Pritam pulled a short one towards deep forward square leg and all the NY fans thought it was a six. But NJ had studied him well and put a fielder in the right place at the right time. Mahender caught a good one at shoulder height and managed to keep his foot inside the boundary by a yard. There were some questions asked by the opposing team and the leg umpire re-confirmed the decision. The catch was good and the NJ team and fans went beserk. All the players ran towards the fielder in celebration. They had tasted victory once again. The last ball was just a formality and Ramesh finished with figures of 1 over 3 runs and 2 wickets. Every bowler would have dreamt to bowl such an over and Ramesh's dream sure came true.

 

All the NJ Lions roared in delight as they ran towards the boundary to celebrate the victory with their supporters. NJ retained the Tristate Uttaranchal Cricket title in 2009 and equaled the highest number of wins record with PA. It was an amazing win for NJ and some thought the new Lions jerseys were lucky for them!

 

 

Regards,

Mahender