FMB Cricket starts with surprises
FMB Cricket Tournament started with surprises on Sunday when minnows Mpingwe Sports Club (MSC) Tete beat giants MSC Gold Fattani while Indian Sports Club (ISC) survived a scare from hosts Oriental Cricket Club (OCC) Lankans.
Tete triumphed after making 109 runs in just 17 overs against Fattani’s 107 runs all-out whereas ISC beat Lankans by a single run after making a total of 161 runs.
Fattani expected an easy win over Tete when they batted first to make 107 runs all-out, but they were shocked to see the minnows marching on to a convincing victory with three overs to spare.
Imran Surti was the architect of Tete’s surprise performance as he top-scored with individual contribution of 40 runs as Shiraz Zaveri and Javid took two wickets each. Saddam Kovariwala had 36 runs for Fattani in the first innings but his score was not enough to get fluff off Tete’s predictable advantage.
“We wore the underdog tag going into this match but a spirited performance helped us to rise to the occasion. It is our wish to win the title this season and this is a good start for our campaign,” Surti said.
In the other match, ISC batted first to make a total of 161 run. However, silence was the prevalent emotion for the visitors as the Lankans entered calculated risks in a bid to match ISC’s score line and force the game into a super over.
With Arjuna Kanishka almost hitting a century for the Lankans after notching 95 runs, the hosts were on the right path to victory until the last minute when they failed to make the desired single run. In ISC’s triumph, Pinkesh Patel was the best performer as he achieved a half century after scoring 67 runs. Jenish Jegtap followed with 39 runs.
Zaveri, who is also MSC executive member, said it was exciting to have some cracking encounters on the opening day of the competition as “this proves that all the 12 competing teams are capable of making it into the last-eight stage.” n
