Challengers elected to bat first on the first fixture to be played at the LGCC venue.

The challengers could not get off to the kind of start they would have liked with the early wicket of Touseef. Whilst Safwan did find the pace of the wicket to his liking, blasting his way to an impressive 35 off 25, the other batsmen from his side struggled in coming to terms with the challenges posed to the challengers by the wicket. Muhammad Waqas (3-24) and Yasir Ahmed (3-15) were the pick of the bowlers from Defenders, who made life pretty difficult for the batsmen. Some resistance by Captain Tahir Ahmad (28 off 28) and single-digit contributions by 7 of the 11 CC batsmen enabled them to crawl their way to an uninspiring total of 113 all out in 19.5 overs.

With a small total on the board, the Defenders would have thought that this total should be a stroll in the park to chase down. This wasn’t to be the case, as the defenders were not going to throw in the towel so easily!

Early inroads were made by skipper Tahir and Salman Jajja with the ball. Their opening spell resulted in wickets tumbling from the get go, and too regularly. By 5.1 overs, the Defenders were in a huge mess with the score at 5-21. The game was on and the Challengers could now smell blood and 2 points on what was a tricky wicket to bat on! Whilst the opening spell by Tahir (2-22) and Salman (3-12) was brilliant, it had to come to an end as both bowlers had bowled out their allotted 4 overs each, opening the door for new bowlers to come in and finish the job at hand.

Atta ul Fahim may have been familiar with such situations at the crease in his playing career, and with partners deserting him one after the other, he found someone who was willing to step up and take the game on in the form of Haseeb Mubashir. A 33 run partnership for the 7th wicket (in 24 balls) became the defining moment of the game as the momentum had shifted towards the chasing side. Haseeb played an absolute blinder under immense pressure by taking on the CC bowlers and scoring what turned out to be a match winning 48 off 29 balls (165 strike rate). Taha’s contribution of 15 off 20 was also pivotal in the context of the game, as it helped ensure Haseeb to play the experienced finisher role for his side.

A low scoring thriller that could have gone to both sides. Credit to CC for making a game out of a meager total, and congratulations to DOP for holding their nerve and securing the win at the end of the day.

Scorecard summery is as follows;

Man of the Match;