KCC have been dominant throughout the entire round-robin tournament and breezed into the final by dispatching the Patong Penguins in the early game last Sunday (Feb 9), their talented all-rounder Ahmad Waseem scoring an unbeaten 153 runs (off 63 balls) with bowling figures of 4-0-21-2.
KCC Captain Imtiyaz Mushtaq won the toss and elected to bat although with the score at 1/2 after a devastating first over from Jason Robertson, he must have been rueing the decision.
After 6 overs the score was only 46/2 but opener Zahoor Ahmad 67 (46) and Ahmad Waseem began to rebuild the innings, cautiously at first, and with the score at 136/2 off 14 overs the innings could have gone either way.
From the 15th over onwards, and after losing Zahoor, Waseem proceeded to hit the ball to all parts of the ACG and beyond, scoring 126 off the last breathtaking 6 overs to finish on 153 not out off only 63 balls – an incredible innings of 12 4’s and 12 6’s.
The innings closed on a tournament record of 262/3 off 20 overs. The Penguins’ bowlers, aside from Robertson (4-21-2) and Buchner (4-34-0), were ripped apart by Waseem and Zahoor.
The Penguins’ reply was always going to be a difficult one, but Flowers 52 (32) and ‘Previously Fat’ Tony 53 (25) tried to keep up with the run rate. However, the chase became increasingly difficult as Waseem entered the bowling attack and the innings closed on a more than respectable 194/7 off their 20 overs, KCC winning the game by 68 runs.
The Man of the Match award was an easy one with Waseem’s batting of 153 not out off 63 balls and bowling figures of 4-21-2 taking the honours and proving to be his second award in consecutive weeks.
KCC’s record from the round-robin matches stands at an impressive 6-0 and the Penguins at 2-4 which meant the afternoon game was, in effect, a dead rubber.
Misfits breeze into Grand Final
In the afternoon’s game the Panthers won the toss and elected to bat. At 30/5 Captain Mayur was staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat although battling performances from the consistent Dessai Balesh 39 (35), newcomer Sanjeev Kumar 33 (36) and Anoop 34 (16) meant they finished on a respectable 152 all out.
In reply, the Phuket Misfits were never in any danger after a fine opening stand of 98 in 10 overs between Jeremy Bootsy 56 (34) and Manish Sandaragani 48 (37). The winning runs followed shortly afterwards with Captain Mudasir Rehman, 28 not out off 11 balls, leading the Misfits through to the Grand Final in style inside 15 overs.
The Man of the Match award went to birthday boy Bootsy for his fine innings and ultra-consistent form of five consecutive scores over 50.
Congratulations to Jeremy and all his team on reaching this Sunday’s Grand Final (Feb 16), where KCC lie in wait in what promises to be a great occasion.