Dramatic wins for BFC and Cyprus Knight Riders
By Richard Boxall
Two of the weekend matches in the BAOFinancial Autumn 2024 T20 Cup presented by HurryCurry could not have been closer, as BFC recorded a one run win over Amdocs while Cyprus Knight Riders overcame Limassol Zalmi by one wicket.
BFC 158-4 beat Amdocs 157 by one run
Amdocs were set a target of 159 after Matty Hone’s unbeaten 55 for BFC, supported by Tom Gregory with 30 and Bids Gurung (27). An opening partnership of 53 in 4 overs gave Amdocs the perfect start, but three wickets in one Ronnie Defreitas over – two bowled, one run out – and the loss of Gaurav Singh for 35 set them back.
Vimal Khanduri (33) and Sagar Sanap (26) steadied the ship, but the required run rate was rising to the point where 20 runs were needed from the last two overs with three wickets intact. Ajitesh Kumar hit two successive sixes in the 19th over, leaving just 4 to get from the final over, bowled by Windy Miller, but, perhaps crucially, with Ajitesh at the non-striker’s end
Sagar scored two from the second ball but was caught in the deep from the third. Another catch was taken on the fifth ball, and the last man came in to face the final ball, needing two to win. The batters tried to run a bye to the wicketkeeper Tom Gregory, who threw down the stumps for a run out, giving BFC victory by the narrowest of margins, and with it a place in the quarter finals.
Limassol Zalmi 119 lost to Cyprus Knight Riders 123-9 by one wicket
In a match that the Knight Riders needed to win to be sure of a quarter final spot, they bowled out Zalmi for 119, with Yeasin Molla taking 4-24, backed up by economical two-wicket spells by Iftekar Jaman and Md Rasel. Zia Ur Rehman top-scored for Zalmi with 36.
Opener Jowel Mia got the Riders off to a good start in reply with 32, but a mid-order collapse against the spin of Sadiq Muhammad (5-23) reduced them to 90-8, still needing 30 runs.
Rasel now made his second important contribution to the match, guiding the tailenders through stands of 20 for the 9th wicket and an unbroken 13 for the tenth to bring his side a dramatic victory.
MSN Punjab Lions 134-7 lost to Sri Lanka Lions 135-3 by 7 wickets
Punjab Lions were made to work hard for their runs in this top of the table clash in group D, reaching 134-7 from their 20 overs, with opener Supun carrying his bat for 58.
The Sri Lankan side lost only three wickets in chasing down their target, with good contributions from Nalin Pathirana (39), Kavindu Maduranga (31 not out), Akila De Silva (23) and Chamal Sadun (23 not out), as they claimed first place in the group.
Markhor 178-6 beat Gujrat Lions 102 by 76 runs
The winner of this Group A match would claim a quarter final place, but it turned out to be a one-sided affair. Markhor opener Zeeshan Ahmad played a stylish innings of 46, followed by a violent 61 by Rasab Sher, and an unorthodox 26 not out by Abdul Mooez, who later took two fine boundary catches. Gurtej Singh took 3-20 but Markhor’s 178-6 was a challenging total.
Amir Hussain hit 37 in Gujrat Lions’ reply, but all the Markhor bowlers performed well, notably Rauf Zaman with 4-18, and the Lions never really looked likely to get close to their target.
Only two group matches are left to be played, and the main point of interest is whether Moufflons can beat Punjabi Kings to overtake Cyprus Knight Riders at the top of group C. The top two from each group will enter a knockout phase to determine the autumn champions.