VCC win the battle of nerves

Manjunath Hadimani | NT

Bengaluru: Vikram Cricket Club (VCC) crowned champions of the KSCA Group I-IV Division League Cum Knockout Tournament for Metro Shield 2021–22 at Alur ground here on Monday. They defeated Friends Union Cricketers (FUC) by 11 runs in a low-scoring thriller.

Winning the toss, VCC elected to bat first and for once it seemed like they made a wrong decision as six wickets fell down for just 62 on the board. And then Manav Bhagath’s (55r, 39b, 4*7, 2*6) late showers helped VCC score some formidable total (197) and a lot to bowlers to bowl.

Chasing 198, FUC had a foul start, losing five wickets for mere 68 runs in the 20 overs. Yatish (63r, 76b, 4*5, 6*3) was a lone warrior fighting till the very end and almost pulled off a game for his team. In 25 balls, 11 runs were needed and he looked solid and FCC camp was hoping against hope that they will take them through. But he couldn’t hold his nerves and played a wrong shot; with his dismissal collapsed the dreams of FUC players to lift the trophy. He was in the limelight for his all-around performance as he picked up 5 wickets for FUC.

Brief scores: Vikram Cricket Club: 197 all out in 45.1 overs [Pavan Kumar K 22, Rohit S 31, Bharat B Badiger 31, Manav Bhagar 55 (39 balls, 7 X 4, 2 X 6), Yatish Kumar BR 5/32] beat Friends Union Cricketers, KGF: 186 all out in 45.5 overs [Arjun KY 20, Shailender Singh 59 (92 balls, 8 X 4), Yatish Kumar BR 63 (76 balls, 5 X 4, 3 X 6), Bharat B Badiger 3/31, Benedict Raj Badiger 3/20, Ganesh P 2/22] by 11 runs.