Mighty Strikers v Defenders of Peace

The Cheam CC fixture between the Strikers and Defenders was a crucial one for Shakir’s side to stay within the competition as loss today would spell curtains for their campaign. The Defenders have been impressive throughout and they had the opportunity to flex their muscles having already secured a qualification for the play off’s spot and a top 2 position. The toss was won by the Strikers who elected to bat first.

Promoting Muhayuddin to the opener’s spot alongside Ajaz proved to be a great decision, as the most destructive player in the line up was asked to go up and utilise the powerplay. Ajaz and Muhayuddin made excellent use of the powerplay as the openers raced to 63-0 by the end of the first six overs, with Muhayuddin registering his 50 off 30 balls, and then they followed up with a big 26 run over post powerplay! Muhayuddin was looking extremely dangerous and damaging the Defenders who desperately needed a breakthrough with the score at 105 in 8 overs, and the breakthrough was finally provided by Imran Iqbal who prized out the wicket of Muhayuddin after his blistering knock of 76 off 37 balls (7 fours and 6 sixes with a strike rate of 205!). Ajaz (24 off 15) who was starting to look dangerous as well was removed in the sand over with the score now at 106-2 in 9 overs.

The Defenders now had the opportunity to slow down the scoring rate and wrestle back some control in the match. Atta ul Faheem and Mansoor tried to build on the foundation laid by the openers, with Faheem contributing with a decent knock of 30 off 23 whilst Mansoor struggled to get much flow on this track due to some good bowling by the Defenders. Fareed’s 4 overs for 29 went wicketless, but with the support of some decent, economical overs by Imran, Saqub and Daniyal the damage limitation by the Defenders was excellent considering they only allowed another 100 runs off 68 balls since the blitz by the openers had ended in the 9th over. A total of 186-5 was a strong total, but the Defenders would take that knowing it could have been a lot worse with the way it was going with Muhayuddin and Ajaz at the crease!

– [ ] The Defenders have some excellent batters in good form, and they too have been excellent chasing scores. Sarfaraz took his time a bit whereas Hadi decided to play the aggressor’s role. A wicket in the 6th over with the score at 39-1 with Shakir getting the breakthrough meant that the Defenders were in danger of falling behind the required rate having not really utilised the powerplay, but Hadi took charge from here on and punished the Striker’s bowlers from the 7th to 11th over registering a score similar to Muhayuddin in the first innings. Hadi was eventually removed in the 11th over having scored 76 off 39 balls and the score now at 110-2 in 11 overs.

Requiring less than 10 an over from here on, Irfan Ahmed was in the mood for revenge having suffered a bit with his bowling earlier on. Irfan’s quick fire 50* off 22 balls enabled the Defenders to race to the finish line with the 14 balls to spare, an innings of sheer brutality whilst also ending the tournament for his former side.

The Defenders have looked unstoppable this season under the leadership of Haseeb, and they will be a tough side to overcome going into the play offs as they have two bites at the cherry with a deserving top spot of 11 points (unassailable lead). The Strikers have a lot of reflection to do considering their side was one of the strongest on paper during the KCL Draft. With excellent cricketers throughout, the season has been a poor reflection of what they are truly capable of. Nevertheless, the quality of the tournament has been excellent considering a side as formidable as the Strikers have had to bow out.