Match Report: 7-Match Series Game 2 - July 16th, 2006
Poor Umpiring Helps LCRC secure a win by one-wicket
Result: LCRC win by 1 wicket (Bala 55; Dabir 5-16-3 ); Scorecard
Sunday, July 16th 2006:
The LCRC barely ran away with a 1-wicket victory as their umpires initiated some unfair play. Two caught behinds and three run outs were not given, which created an insurmountable tension between two teams.
LVCC won the toss and elected to bat first. Opening pairs Lenin and Nasir gave the team a great start as they took advantage of the gaps. LCRC’s fielding looked slightly up to par as they brought in three players from another club to compete against a formidable LVCC line-up. Majid, the only sub-continent player in the LCRC camp, got an early break through as he looked to dominate once more. At drinks, LVCC had only lost a few wickets and looked as if they were going to post another huge total. With enough batting line-up to come LVCC continued their domination, but a succession of quick wickets led to a slow down in scoring. The Xpress failed to capitalize in the final overs but managed to post a decent score of 148 runs.
With a required run-rate of 4.93 an over, LCRC looked as if they were the favorites to win match. The Xpress hailed the LCRC openers with a blissful bowling attack, putting the Lankans on the back-foot. Close to drink, LCRC had already lost six wickets and looked in no control of winning the match. After the drinks break, the Lankans tried to stabilize their inning but in the process failed to give a clear caught-behind and three run out decisions. The only player that managed to survive was Bala, a UNLV Cricket Club player, who batted well enough to help lead the Lankans to their first win.
LCRC did not deserve to win as they selfishly helped themselves to win a close but hard fought match. With the win, the series is now tied 1-1. The Xpress will be hungry to win Game 3 as they would want to prove LCRC’s incompetence.