Scorecard

Gosport Borough CC 2nd XI v Portsmouth & Southsea Cricket Club 3rd XI on Sat 25 Jul 2020 at 13:00
Portsmouth & Southsea Cricket Club Won by 3 runs

Match report WHAT A MATCH!!

After a long summer of inactivity on the cricket field, the boys were back, the sun was out and the P&S 3rds were looking to start the season with a bang.

Mohit and Sayeed started the innings steadily for P&S after the opposition had decided to field first. Gosport Borough’s opening bowler Harris in particular tested the batsmen with a good deal of pace and guile, however the partnership stood firm and runs were starting to flow.

Mohit batted with great balance and poise as he played all around the wicket - the pick of his shots being a sumptuous and well-timed drive through the offside. Sayeed was playing a typically innovative and unpredictable innings with creative shots to find the gaps - a wristy flick over mid-on for 4 off a delivery outside the off stump being the perfect example.

The opening partnership came to an end in the 8th over with the score on 36 when Mohit departed for a promising 18 after an attempt to crash another drive through the covers found a fielder. This brought Krishan to the crease to join Sayeed and the pair put on a partnership of 54 with Krishan upping the strike rate with his typical class and elegant stroke play. It was looking like Krishan might be on his way to another mammoth score before he unexpectedly got out on 40, however only after bringing up the run rate and putting the opposition firmly on the back foot with the score on 90-2 in the 21st over.

Bibek joined Sayeed as the opposition had decided to take pace off the ball on a sticky and slow wicket. Runs were hard to come by and the batting pair had to battle, scrap and fight for every run as the total edged past 150. A lofted drive over the bowler’s head from Bibek and a couple of pull shots from Sayeed from brought about some much needed boundaries against a strong fielding side. Across 14 overs the pair put on a determined partnership of 70 which was P&S’s biggest of the game - Sayeed and Bibek both departed in the final few overs for 56 and 34 respectively in an attempt to hit P&S towards a total of 200.

Shan and Romit added a couple of boundaries each late on to provide an injection of runs and P&S closed the innings on a solid 196.


The second innings got underway and captain Karthik handed the ball over to Romit for the first over. Romit’s excellent display of swing bowling right from the start coupled with an aggressive and attacking line set the early tone. The batsmen were helpless amid numerous sighs from behind the stumps as the ball whistled through many plays and misses off Romit’s bowling.

Pat opened from the other end and complimented Romit’s swing bowling by taking the first wicket in the 2nd over as he got one to nip through Butcher’s gate and crash into the stumps. Pat had got the wickets flowing for P&S with an excellent wicket maiden and there was no let up as Romit delivered a few more beauties and a cleverly disguised slower delivery which got Wood to chip one up in the air and he was caught in the covers. 0-2 after 3 overs and P&S were on cloud nine.

A cacophony of encouragement for the bowlers had created a real buzz in the field and although Gosport showed fight and started to accumulate some runs they soon found themselves at 40-4 in the 11th over after Romit took two further wickets in a devastating opening spell.

However, Gosport’s no. 3, Rees, provided steel and dug in as the wickets around him tumbled. Rees himself was lucky on one or two occasions off Pat’s bowling as the ball narrowly missed the off stump.

Steve Weatherill joined the bowling attack and bowled a tight spell of 5 overs with an economy rate of only 3 runs per over which added further pressure to the run chase. Karthik also bowled economically as usual and the batsmen were struggling to stay alive and keep the scoreboard ticking. Karthik was unlucky not to get Rees’ wicket when he got him to edge one to 1st slip where the usually faultless Mohit agonisingly missed out on holding on to a diving effort.

After the reprieve Rees then started to open up with some powerful hits on the off-side and he was well supported by Gravells who came in at no. 6 - the pair put on a resisting partnership of 43 across 13 overs before Gravells departed for 13 when Shan brilliantly bowled with a quick delivery in the 24th over. Rees has settled by this point and brought up his half century before Shan ended his dogged stay in the middle in the 26th over with another brilliant fast and full delivery that hit the stumps. A further two overs later Shan struck once again to bring up his 3rd and Gosport’s 7th wicket - P&S cheers were loud and the celebrations suggested that this game may be over with the score on 117-7 at the end of the 28th over, with Gosport chasing a target of 197.

However Taylor at no. 7 and Williams at no. 9 had other ideas as they attacked the bowling with a spirited display of fight and belief. They scored with attacking but well-selected shots and ran aggressively between the wickets. The run rate increased rapidly with some powerful hits for 4 and suddenly the game was back on. The score had moved to 180 in the middle of the 38th over with 63 runs being added across 10 overs from the 29th over. Shan gave P&S some renewed optimism when he struck at the end of the 38th over to remove Williams for 37 when he skied one up to Tristan - Tristan brilliantly held his nerve and took a fantastic catch with a calm head. This was in addition to an afternoon of all-round brilliant wicket keeping where Tristan saved numerous byes with diving stops.

All of a sudden Gosport were in with a real chance of a victory. They needed 17 runs to win off the last two overs with 2 wickets in hand. The P&S boys looked rallied round each other with one final push of passion. The scene was set for a nail biting finish and who better to provide inspiration with the ball than in the last 2 overs than Romit and Karthik.

Romit bowled the 39th over in his usual calm and collected fashion - no nerves in sight - cool as ice. Despite the batsmen backing up aggressively to run every single and to try and smash the ball, Romit only conceded 8 runs in the 39th over - a tight over in the most testing of match situations. He was well supported by terrific stops in the deep by Sayeed, Cam and Pat - bodies on the line with total dedication. Then a heart wrenching and potentially match deciding chance went down as Pat dropped Taylor off a difficult chance that was skied high.

9 runs to win off 6 balls with Taylor on strike on 40.

This looked like it could be Taylor’s moment and the Gosport cheers grew louder and they believed they were now the favourites but the P&S heads were still held high as the ball was passed over to captain Karthik to do what he has done many times before - to win the match for P&S.

Karthik started his run up with intent and to everyone’s surprise fired a full toss on leg stump which Taylor emphatically dispatched for 4. Karthik knelt down with disappointment as the Gosport players on the sidelines were preparing for celebrations. The next delivery had to be a good one as this was now do or die - and it was the perfect one - Karthik got the ball to jag back and catch Taylor’s inside edge - the ball hit the stumps and the dangerous Taylor was out for 44 after playing a blinder of an innings.

5 to win off 4 - and Karthik delivered 4 more outstanding balls where Gosport were only able to squeeze one more single with the P&S fielders all close in to stop quick singles.

King Karthik had worked his magic again and the game was won!

A terrific display of team spirit and fight right up until the final delivery. Every team member contributed and this was a famous victory to greet the return of cricket.

Come on P&S!!!

Man of the match: Shan - 4 crucial wickets.

Champagne moment: Karthik - magical final over.

Portsmouth & Southsea Cricket Club 3rd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
196		        
Sayeed Shahid Caught  56
Mohit Patel Caught  18
Krishan Patel Caught  40
Bibek Dhakal Caught  34
Tristan Collighan Stumped  4
Karthik Muthuraman Lbw  3
Shan Shajahan Not Out  8
Romit Patel Caught  9
Cameron Davis Stumped  0
Patrick Sillence Not Out  1
Stephen Weatherill  

Gosport Borough CC 2nd XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Jacob Harris8.003100.003.87
Jordyn Dore8.002538.333.12
Nathan Titchener8.0036136.004.50
Joe Williams8.0047315.675.88
Scott Taylor0.0040140.000.00

Gosport Borough CC 2nd XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 9 wickets
0
193 (40.0 overs)		     
Robert Wood Caught  0
Lee Butcher Bowled  0
Michael Rees Bowled  55
J Harris Lbw  7
Gavin King Bowled  4
M Gravels Bowled  13
S Taylor Bowled  44
R Gander Bowled  8
J williams Caught  36
J Dore Not Out  1
N Titchener Not Out  1

Portsmouth & Southsea Cricket Club 3rd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Romit Patel8.0231310.333.87
Patrick Sillence8.0148148.006.00
Stephen Weatherill5.001900.003.80
Karthik Muthuraman8.0128128.003.50
Shan Shajahan8.013248.004.00
Cameron Davis3.002200.007.33

  • Umpire :
    Self
  • Scorer :
    Self